


Coincidences

by AllyShiffy



Series: Coincidences [1]
Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-20
Updated: 2017-07-29
Packaged: 2018-10-21 04:52:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 26,610
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10678071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AllyShiffy/pseuds/AllyShiffy
Summary: In the beginning, they thought they were the only ones of their kind; however, in a turn of events, they meet experiment 68394. Hormones stir, tension rises, love triumphs. Leonardo feels insecure about his feelings for the run-away experiment, but still yearns for her.Smut, adventure, graphic violence, and romance. The first chapter is on DeviantArt, but I figured I would put the rest on here :)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own the TMNT characters or plot line of the 2014/2016. Future characters (OC's) are adaptations of the original, but the character thought still belongs to Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird.

Chewing on her gums, she circled the store, searching for the best deals. Enlarged mirrors fish bowled her appearance to the store owner, as she eyed the young woman. A dull gaze glanced at the money in her wallet and items in her basket. Chapped lips parted in a sigh as the she grabbed the two most expensive items in her cart, a small bottle of shampoo, and multiple books. She admired small market books like this, but knew that she was in deep need of a proper bath. Placing the books back on the wrong shelf, her feet shuffled towards the front counter to begin placing the items on the counter.  
The middle-aged lady at the counter eyed her appearance, noting her messy bangs that blended into her hair which was covered by her baggy hood. Blue eyes glanced up and down the girl’s thin physique and scoffed when she handed her money. Flinching at the sound coming from the employee, her heart ached but felt anger at her rudeness. Once her change was given back to her, she slipped the change back into her pocket and nodded,  
"Thank you, ma’am, have a good night."  
A final, forced, smile escaped her cracked lips as she walked out the front door of the convenient store. Satisfied that she was growing closer and closer to bed time, the woman’s shoes slapped with exhaustion against the cold cement.  
The indigo sky was lit up from the lights that flooded the New York skyline, which revealed hues of orange and yellow in the sky. There were no stars on this cloudy night, not even a warm breeze from the sewers. She shivered against the nippy night wind, and quicken her pace back to the car.  
Noticing the bright motel sign on her right she ducked into the alley way. Stench leaking from the nearby dumpsters filled her nostrils, which should have been used to the scent by now. The rusty fire escape was creaking in the cold wind, her instincts immediately reacted. Rolling her eyes at herself, she hugged the jacket closer to her body,  
"Jeez, why am I so damn paranoid…" Eager to snuggle up inside of the worn cushions of her Toyota Avalon, her cold and nimble fingers fumbled with her keys. Frustration took over her mind, and a metal splat on the ground made her curse under her breath, and bend over to pick it up. A small mirror underneath the car shined in her eyes, and she immediately recognized the shiny blade. Instinctively, she clenched her jaw and held her fist tightly, slowly turning around to face the welder of the blade,  
"We've told ya many times, dovey, to move ya car. What's it been naw? A'week? Time to pay up." A tall and gruesome man hovered over her. Three more men pursued to up behind him, all of them carrying some type of weapon and even handcuffs. Her heart pounded in her chest, but she revealed a stone face. In her physical condition, she wasn’t exactly healthy nor powerful. She knew that she had to stay calm, collective, and most importantly be the bigger person.  
"I will have it gone by the morning. Can I please just sleep for the night?" She pleaded with a desperate tone, resulting in the pursuer shaking his head.  
"No can do sweetthang. If I can't sleep 'cause some gal is usin' my parking spot, then no one gets to sleep." And with a crack of his neck, his large feet stepped forward.  
"I'll give you what you want, I’ll leave in a few minutes, just let me..." The crooked men gave their leader a glance, which resembled a statue.  
“No can do sweetheart. You’re leavin’ now!” As she turned to reach for her keys again, the alpha’s foot came flying up towards her face. Instinctively, she leapt back into the car and blocked the steel toe boot, which left a throbbing pain in her forearm. Grimacing in pain, she held the keys in the crack of her index and middle finger.  
“Don’t underestimate me…” She exposed her teeth, and began to growl with a primitive glare.  
"This is too cute!" One said, another snorted, "What a pathetic gal!".  
Pushing her bright auburn tresses out of her face, the strong-willed woman turned to the four men, and shifted her weight from under her, lifting her fists defensively. Loud chuckles came from the harden cores as they gasped for breath.  
"Come and get it, you bastards." With that final insult, the four men began to swarm around the thin woman slapping their weapons against their palms with eager.  
________________________________________  
"YAHOOOOOOOO!"  
Another hoot and holler came from the youngest mutant as he twisted and twirled around his older brothers on his skateboard. Jumping, dodging, and leaping from each roof top and obstacle to the next filled the brother's chest with adrenaline. The oldest in the front, leading the group towards their goal for the night, the usual Pizza-Pick-Up. His intellectually minded brother on his left, doo-dawdling away at his watch, while still able to avoid the obstacles in his way. The strong-willed and stubborn brawny brother was on his right flank, following his exact movements with bone crushing strength. Finally, the youngest brother, flying in-between each of them, which threw them off course.  
"Mikey would ya quit with that!? Ya' gunna' knock me ova'!" The muscular brother growled at his little brother, whose only reply was his signature tongue poking out of his mouth. Rolling his eyes, the red clad ninja didn't notice his smaller brother had stopped right in front of him, sending the both flying into the top of dumpster. Groaning at the sound of metal being bent in all the wrong ways, the stoic leader turned around and made pace over towards his complaining brothers.  
"Guys! We're ninjas! Mikey, that was reckless and irresponsible! Raph, you should've watched were you going!" An authoritative tone rolled off his tongue unintentionally, which was the only thing to cause Raph's temper to flare.  
"What the hell Leo? Why are ya lecturing me for Mikey's stupidity!?" A large green palm smacked into the leader's pectoral plate, shoving the eldest brother to be pushed back. Leo's animalistic instinct recognized this behavior as a challenge of authority, however his two-sense took over. Shrugging it off was better in the long run, starting an argument only induced more anger and tension within the group. Although, Raph wasn't going to take his anger that was still bubbling out on Leo, but on Mikey. Raph's annoyed gaze locked with Mikey's 'innocent' blue eyes.  
"Mikey! Why do ya have to be so damn stupid!?"  
"Raph, that's enough-"  
"I'm not stupid! You're just blind!"  
"Hey, guys."  
"I ain't blind! Ya can't just stop like that!"  
"Guys-"  
"You two need to stop-"  
"GUYS!"  
"What Donnie!?" The three of mutant brothers turned to see their technical brother, standing as stiff as a board, and pointing behind them. Shifting, the four of them now had their eyes set on a fight scene. Five guys, all around five foot nine to six foot four, with spiked bats and knives. They were approaching someone who was pushed up against a car.  
“Looks like a robbery to me.” Leonardo mumbled aloud,  
“We should be down there, protecting innocent civilians ya know?” Mikey nudged his immediate brother, who slightly pushed him back.  
“W’knows, he probably deserved it.” Donatello’s binoculars zoomed in closer onto the target that was being approached quickly.  
“That’s a girl!” The intellectual brother pointed out to his younger brother, who immediately regretted what he had just said. Quickly, a plan was made in the eldest brother’s mind, although he was hesitant about it.  
“Leo, if we don’t do something she could get hurt,” the brother’s set their attention on the small scream that came from the alleyway. One of the five men were holding a blade up to the woman’s face, while two other scumbags held her arms tightly. The men hollered and whistled while the alpha and the beta advanced towards her, and pressed the blade up to her cheek.  
“Alright guys, lights out, no witnesses. Just make sure she isn’t in the line of our weapons or their bodies.” Leonardo confidently stood in the center of his brothers, who nodded, eagerly waiting to kick some shell.  
________________________________________  
“I mean it. Don’t underestimate me.” The woman growled and silently gasped at the cold blade. The men continued to chuckle, almost creating tears in their eyes. As the blade pressed deeper and deeper into her skin, her heart began to race. It wasn’t in fear, or anger, but in instinct. Taking in a deep breath, she was about to release herself onto these pathetic men. However, the sound of blade rushing through the air and shattered the alley-ways only light source. The men jumped in fright, their grips on the woman weakened. She knew this was her only chance. Elbowing the one on the right in the nose, he fell to the ground with a grunt and held his bleeding nose. The left-man advanced towards his friend’s attacker.  
A grunt escaped her chapped lips as the young woman was charged at. Grabbing the larger man's shirt, she began to scratch at the exposed skin. Feeling the cold metal up against her skin as she collided into the frozen car, she hissed at the icy sting. His rugged fingers grazed against her rough denim jeans and made their way towards the zipper.  
"Keep her tight, Dan! We’ll check this out…" The now named 'Dan' began to pull his muscles back, his biceps tensing and filling with anticipation. Using her free hand, she clawed across his face violently, and pushed him away. A growl came from the winded man, who's deviled eyes seemed to flare up with anger. White knuckles came into clear view of her alarmed eyes, but her sensible knowledge emerged just in time. Grabbing his face with both of her cold hands, she thrusted her head forward, cringing at the internal crack that echoed in the alley way. Slumping to the snow-covered ground, Dan's cold and harsh gaze locked with the scared orbs of the woman.  
"She fuckin' cracked 'is skull!" One called out, "Some psychic betch!" The leader called out in horror, and those three words stuck to her mind like glue. Memories flooded back into her mind as she stood there, above the dying man, gasping in horror at herself. Her uncontrollable rage, fear, and strength. Heavy taps against the cold ground brought her out of her dark mind. Brown work boots made their way towards her, and grew heavier, indicating the rage that filled those boots. Finally swallowing her fear, she looked up at her attacker, and flinched when the switch blade's reflective light hit her eyes.  
"An eye for an eye, dovey." He growled, it was the leader, that crooked bastard who refused to give her any sort of peace. Gaining distance towards her, her knees began to buckle and her chest grew tight, anger flooding every single cell in her body.  
"That’s enough! Let her go and we won’t attack you." Both the aggressor and the victim stopped and looked towards the source of the scream. Her attackers snarled and immediately grabbed her by the neck,  
“Who did you call to come and save you, eh? Got some lil’ friends on these streets?” Dan barked in her ear and slammed her into the car. What startled him was the creaking on the car and its dent door. He knew that he was strong, but strong enough to dent a car like it had been in a car accident, no. She narrowed her vibrant amber eyes.  
“No, I called myself!” Rocking back onto the hood of the car and drawing up her leg muscles, she kicked her assailant in the chest. As he fell back, his blade encountered her fair skin and cut a deep gash into her cheek. Hissing in pain, she held her cheek and curse colorfully. Gasping for air, the weakened man gestured to the last two men,  
"Get em'!" With the smallest bit of hesitation, two men advanced and began swinging their barbed wire bats near her face. The one of the left swung his bat like Babe Ruth, just barely missing her face as she bent backwards across the car. Twisting herself around, she reached across the car, her cold fingers nearly missed the frozen tire iron. Colliding with the fatter one's bat, the struggling woman felt a strong gust of wind passing by. Taking her attention off the attacker, she looked over to see something she'd never imagine ever seeing in the flesh. Those three large digits belonged to an even larger man, no, being. Callused, green skin reflected in the dim streetlight adorned with dark and fading tattoos across the ironical smooth surface.  
The scrawny assailant came out of her right plane, and reached his knife out towards her stomach. Grabbing his forearm, she lifted his boney body over her shoulder and into the dumpster. Smirking in satisfaction of the counter-attack, she locked her orbs onto a set of sais.  
“Yo dudes, she’s a great fighter!”  
An oncoming whack to the face caused the woman to snap out of her thoughts and freeze. Her heart was thumping, her mind was spinning, her imagination got the best of her, her senses produced a feeling of the barbed wire cutting into her facial features. But nothing came, only a loud bang against an opposing dumpster.  
Petrified, pale amber eyes shot open to see her aggressive attacker slumped into a weakened position on the polar ground. Her eyes danced through the alley, waiting to lock eyes with her savior. Moving away from the car, she knees grew weaker, and she stumbled to her right.  
"Whoever you are, thanks.” Calling out quietly and cautiously. She could see the vague shadows of their armor and weapons that shined in the street light across the block. But her predispositions enlightened her with a surprise. She knew something was different about these men who had helped her, and she was dying to know,  
“What are you?” What surprised her next, was the seeping pain emerging from her back. A blood-like scream emerged from her mouth, and the sound of fabric was silenced by it. Turning her head, she saw a knife sticking out of her deformity and a crude, disgusting face.  
The brothers watched as her hands and knees collided on the ground. Pivoting around to face the grinning man, she narrowed her eyes at his cruelty. His decaying teeth, his crusty nostrils, every inch of his body had manifested itself into his soul. Disgusting. A final grip on the tire iron gave her motivation to swing it across his frontal lobe which sent him across the alley way. Releasing the tire iron with a dazed sense of her surroundings, she stared at the cold ground that was slowly filling up with snowflakes. The snowflakes soon became white stars, circling and emerging in different places of her vision.  
"Ma'am? Ma'am can you hear me?" Another voice, filled with authority and care echoed next to her saviors’ cries. She couldn't make sense of her words; her tongue continuously became tied and her heavy eye lids soon shut.  
Donatello made his way through his eldest brother, and lifted her up off the cold ground. Repeating questions repeatedly about her health and trying to regain her consciousness. Don's callused fingers grazed across her back, and he jumped.  
"What is it Donnie?" Unable to respond, Donnie rolled the mother forward, still having a steady grip on her arms. The long trench coat had a single cut the spread from the base of her neck, down towards her tail bone. Pulling the fabric underneath back and avoiding the knife that was still sticking out of her ... well.  
"Donnie?" A small mutter came from the intellectual turtle’s mouth, causing Leo to grow annoyed at his avoidance of his concerns.  
"Donatello, what is wrong-"  
"She has a shell." All the brothers stopped, and looked closer at the shivering mutant. The dark brown leather was now exposing her mutation. On her back, was a shell. Brown and hard looking, covered with thin lines. Starting from her neck all the way down to her back, covering her skin, were light brown and green scales and intricate patterns that covered her arms and the back of her neck. A shell that was significantly smaller then her rescuers, but none the less, it shocked them. The turtles gasped, and stared forever, memorizing each little line and crevice.  
"We can't leave her out here!" Mikey tapped Leo's shoulder, pulling him out of a daze. Leo frowned and sighed to himself, his thoughts still processing what was happening.  
"Donnie, call April and ask her to bring over some medicine and clothing. Raph, call Casey and let him know what happened. Then you two are going to try and jumpstart her car and bring it back to the lair. Mikey, we'll take her back to the lair and get her cleaned up."  
"Do you know where my med kit is-"  
"Yes Donnie. I've dressed your wounds before. I'm sure I can at least bandage her up until you get back." With a curt nod, Leo ushered his brothers along, and held on tightly to the limp mutant.  
*************************************  
Jumping from roof to roof, thoughts flooded Leo's head as he readjusted his grip on the young woman-mutant countless times. Who is she? Why is she homeless? Was she genetically created like us? Shuttering away his negative assumptions, Leo looked down at the tight lips of the damsel in distress, indicating her pain of unconsciousness. Holding her closer, he and his younger brother hurried across sewer pipes. Finding the quickest way back into the lair wasn't a big issue. It was the fact was that Leo had to face Master Splinter sooner or later about bringing this wounded girl into their home. Slightly against their will. Totally against their will.  
As he and Mikey came sliding down the pipe, they skipped across the water pool, causing a loud splash. Leo immediately heard the shuffling of his father's robe the grazed across the cold floor. Hopefully trying to ignore the oncoming backlash from his father, Leonardo hurried past the Halloween pumpkins that were ready to be carved. Black, beady eyes locked with Leo's ocean eyes. A sudden hot feeling flooded his chest as he looked down to see the unconscious woman, snuggling closer into his rock-hard chest, seeking warmth or comfort, Leo didn't know. All he knew was that it was very awkward, for him mainly.  
"What is the meaning of this!? Leonardo, why are you carrying a sleeping woman?!" Splinter's voice grumbled harshly at his oldest and youngest son, his eyes narrowing. Mikey looked to his father and then glanced at the woman shivering in his brother’s arms. Mikey didn't have a very good answer for his father, and he knew that. Instead of words coming out of the childish mouth, only a low noise of uncertainty.  
"It was my call, Master Splinter." Leo cleared his throat unassumingly. His father then directed his attention to his eldest, and stroke his beard.  
"And tell me why this 'call' was made, my son?" Splinter's tail thrashed about with anger. Leo avoided eye contact, knowing the very feel of disappointment that radiated off his father. Shifting his weight and adjusting his grip on the mutant, he began to speak,  
"She was being attacked by some ass- er, men. She seemed to take them on pretty well, even being out numbered." His voice failed him as it wandered off in the small echoes of the sewer. Leo made his way towards the large neon 'N', and reached for the thick blanket.  
Placing the mother down gently, Leo sat her upright on the couch. Grabbing the bandages that Mikey had given him, he began to remove the bloodied hoodie. She was wearing a dark teal sweater, which was buttoned from the back. To avoid infecting the wound even more, he slowly slid the piece of fabric above her wound, exposing her boney hips and flat stomach. Removing the knife wasn't the hard part, but trying to wrap the white cloth around her was. He gently placed her forehead on his shoulder and continued to disinfect the wound. After, he bandaged her shell up, and laid her down on her stomach to prevent discomfort. He then quickly covered her up before the cold got to her. Mikey came up next to him and sat down on the arm of the couch.  
"She was wounded, Sensei."  
"I know. . ." Master Splinter moved in between his sons and placed his thin fingers on her shoulder, feeling his callused fingers across the her worn out fabric.  
"But why not take this young lady to the ho-"  
"She’s… a turtle. She has a shell," A surprised look came across the old rat's face. "She's a mutant. Like us. She was stabbed in her shell." Humming to himself, the father stroked his long and wiry beard, thinking to himself.  
"Where are your brothers?"  
"Donnie and Raph went to bring her car here. We called April and Casey, they’ll be here soon-"  
"And when she wakes up? What will you say?"  
Silence fell between the rat and his son. Leo still had so many questions to answer and he seemed to never run out. Rubbing his temples and exhaling a breath he didn't even know he was holding in, he answered,  
"I don't know Sensei... I'm sorry I failed you."  
"Do not be apologetic to me, my son, you did what was right." And with that, the grumpy old rat shuffled away to his sectioned-off room, and hummed to himself quietly. Leo sighed and locked eyes with his baby brother's. Not saying a word, Leo knew what Mikey was thinking.  
"She can leave if they want to Mikey. She can't stay forever." Mikey's baby blues rolled,  
"But it's better than living in a car forever!?"  
"Mikey, what if she has a job? What if she has a family to spend Thanksgiving with? It's not our place to take away her normal life to give us company!" Leo harsh barked back quietly, which gave Mikey a sigh, followed by a nod. A loud engine could be heard on the other end of the lair, indicating that their brothers had returned. Mikey sat still, undisturbed by the roaring metal coming through the lair while Leo walked up towards his bedroom, allowing them to have some space.  
His thoughts were still running his head, constantly in motion. They wouldn't stop, even if they were answered in the slightest, there was another question to that answer. Grunting in annoyance, Leo crossed his legs, hoping that meditation would clear his flooded mind.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own the TMNT characters or plot line of the 2014/2016. Future characters (OC's) are adaptations of the original, but the character thought still belongs to Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird.

‘Where am I?'

Foggy thoughts clouded her mind, ones that were worrisome, ones that made her body tense up. She was freezing cold, and it felt like her body was rejecting any sense of warmth. Holding her breath, she began to open her heavy eyelids. What she saw next stunned her so much, she lost her breath. She was laying on her stomach, but her head face towards a medium sized TV that stood on a tiny coffee table. Above her was a large neon sign of the letter 'N' on a brick wall. Her eyes followed up the large wall, and she drew in all the beautifully pleasing sewer pipes that ran across in different directions. Finally sitting upwards, still in pain, she sat on her elbows, and took in the details. This was not a laboratory. Behind the TV seemed to be a pool of some sort, that had a giant water slide running down the middle of it. The pool of water was in front of what could have been a dining area that was sectioned off. Looking to her right, she noticed a ring of candles that surrounded a beautiful Middle-Eastern rug-

"Guys, guys! She's awake!" A harsh whisper came from across the underground that frightened the weak mutant. Memories of secretive whispers aggravated her, her irritation rising as they gave each other quick glances. From afar she couldn't tell who was whispering, all she could see was their size. Their hunchbacks as they stood up tall confused her even more. Her instincts began to kick in, her adrenaline to find a way out increased at a rapid speed.

"Don’t come near me!” She shouted in the vast sewer, her panicked voice bouncing off the walls and into her ears. Pushing herself off the couch, she fell onto the tiny coffee table with a thud. Loud footsteps could be heard coming closer to her which resulted in Ebony to find the nearest weapon, which happened to be a lantern. Swinging the lantern towards the nearest figure, her messy bangs fell in her eyes. Its skin was a leathery green, full of calluses and tattoos, scars from thin blades and deep cuts. As it came closer to her, she scooted backwards in pain, only to feel her shell connecting with the cold brick wall. Swallowing in fear, she locked eyes with the ocean blue eyes that swam with apprehension, hopefulness, and even fear. Just as she was about to push herself up the wall to escape, he held his hand out to her. Three fingers, including a thumb. She began to calm down, low and shaky breathes escaping her mouth.

“Ma’am, we do not want to hurt you. You are already wounded badly, I think it would be wise to-“ Her eyes glanced across the three set of eyes that stood next to the blue orbs. Baby blues, a jade green, and a smoky oak brown darted, but their glances were totally unique. Their eyes held curiosity and care, passion and kindness. Instinct kicked in over her conscious thoughts and her veins began to tense up. A low growl came from her chest, and her knuckles were turning white. Eventually, the blue-masked turtle crouched down to her level and reached his hand forward, his posture held his stoic authority, but his gesture signified kindness.

“My name is Leonardo. I’m not here to hurt you. These are my brothers, Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo. None of us are here to hurt you.” His voice was so calm and soothing that she seemed to be reeled into his voice and ocean eyes. An old cough filled the room, and the orbs of color moved aside, allowing black beady eyes that reflected the neon orange sign behind them. Unknown to why her heart beat didn't pick up, she let out a breath of air that she didn’t know she was holding.

"Young lady, you have many questions, I am sure." The old raspy voice called out, sending shivers down her neck, but she had nodded. She kept eyes on the tall mutant, but did notice the other three lingering behind him holding the same posture of calm.

"And would you like some answers to those questions?" Swallowing her anxious thoughts and tightening her trembling grip, she again nodded, refusing to release her strong voice. A mouth dropping moment came, when the voice appeared from out of the shadows, his long wiry beard was being stroked by his boney fingers. A full-fledged rat, no, a mutated rat? Genetically enhanced? All sorts of conclusions came to the mother's head, but none seemed to make any sense of seem logical. Her grip was loosening on her arms, but she continued to clench her jaw.

"Young lady, my name is Master Splinter. We would like to know your name." Her eyes reluctantly shifted to the black-eyed and back towards the four brothers. Her protective vision blinded her from the realization of what they truly were. Clearing her throat, her voice seemed to escape her as she noticed all their eyes watching her.

“I am experiment 68394.” A hum came from the old rat, and each of the brothers shared a confused and almost disbelieved glance. Her voice melodic, but full of strength as if she tried with all her might to look strong.

“Do you have a name that you prefer to be called?” Contemplating her actions made her doubt herself. She knew that if they wanted to kill her, they would’ve already. Hesitation raised in her voice,

"Ebony." Silence fell among the crowd. Her anger faded, and her messy bangs were pushed backwards to reveal her pale amber eyes. She finally could comprehend the mutants that stood in front of her. Their noses were round, completely animalistic. Bald domes that were wrapped with different colored bandanas, marking their differences. Oddly enough, they all seemed rather human like. Her amber eyes flicked back and forth between them, their skin most of all. Her heart swelled, her eyes had to have been cheating her, right? Maybe she had a concussion? Looking back and forth between the four giant turtles, she locked eyes with the ocean irises that seemed to be lined with sparkles. Eyes widening, Ebony noticed the large 'hunchback' on his back. A shell. A dome like structure that was covered in intricate lines and deep groves that lined each geometrical shape. Slowly, keeping eye contact, she pushed herself up the brick wall.

"You're not going to scream, are you?" A hesitant voice called out. It was male, unsure and insecure about something, from what Ebony guessed was a physical feature. I mean, with good looks, why would you live in a sewer. She recognized that voice, it's childish tone and high pitch diction. She shook her head,

“No, sir.”

"Dudes, she called me sir!" A loud slap upside what could have been a leather strap followed by a groan in pain made Ebony confused as why it was necessary to slap the mutant turtle.

"Shut up Mikey!" Mikey. She had heard that before, the same annoyed voice, the deep baritone growl. Her mind was racing to find the answers, answers that she couldn't explain. But her mind had stopped, for large thuds came forward, standing behind the rat. Her mouth dropped, taking in the sight of these four males.

"She's looking at us like we're some freaks!" The deep baritone voice called out openly, but he turned his body in a pivot, reflecting his irritation.

“If you’re a freak what does that make me?” The turtles flinched at her growling voice, and stared at their angered brother, who immediately flushed with embarrassment.

All the turtles got a better look at what she was wearing, although it was bloodied. An oversize sweater that was designed to loosely flow at the back and hips, was now falling off her chest and shoulders and exposing her collar bone. Fitted cufflinks that were oddly clean compared to the rest of her sweater were tucked under her black gloves. Low rising jeans that had bell-bottom covered her ragged boots. She had torn and beat up boots from the weather, and one giant hole on the left shoe. Her feathered hair was maybe a half an inch under her shoulders. Although her hair held a dull shine, it was visible that she had beautiful locks, the color of bark from the trees in Central Park during late autumn. Her eyes were considerably different, a beautiful amber with golden flecks. Freckles covered her face; yet the fight she endured with those men last night began to seep through her skin, which was splattered in large bruise here and there and a scar across her left cheek.

"Uhm, you really shouldn't be getting up, you're still injured-" The higher pitch voice came again through Ebony's ears, but her body disobeyed her. Limping closer and closer to the turtles, she past the rat leaving him humming and stroking his thin beard.

"You," Pivoted once again, almost loosing balance sent all the turtles rushing towards her, waiting for her to trip or loose balance. Finally, all those years of scientific research had paid off.

“You were created by Dr. Sacks, were you not?” Ebony stared into the intellectual brother’s eyes. All of them seemed very shocked that she knew of Sacks’ name, but their attention was diverted when the familiar tapping of heels echoed through the sewers. She recognized this woman, whose hips were swaying side to side next to a larger built gentleman in a tight red shirt. She had seen the woman multiple times on TV, so she was someone important. The thought of humans near these mutants made Ebony curious and defensive, which made her respond in a crouch position, cornering herself once again.

“Who are they?” She barked at Leonardo, who seemed curious at her sudden aggressiveness towards April and Casey, but figured that she might’ve had a horrible run in with humans more than once.

“Ebony, they’re our friends, April O’Neill and Casey Jones.” A silent nod from Ebony made April and Casey nervous at the sight of her. A sudden click in her mind sent her back into the memories of her past that were locked away, or so she thought. This ragged woman that was obviously defensive of her the sight of them,

“Woah, what did you guys do? Kidnapped a damsel in distress? That’s a new low for you guys!” Casey scoffed playfully. Rolling his eyes, the red-banded turtle gave him the bird, and turned his attention back to his techie brother, who was blabbering away.

“To answer your question, no. But we were genetically enhanced to what we are now. How did you know?”

“I was created by Dr. Heminstein.” Ebony groaned in pain from the stinging sensation that came from her shell. Leonardo offered to move her to the couch, but she smacked his hand away.

“Heminstein? I met him once.” April mumbled and stepped forward to get a better look at her friend’s new guest. She gasped and gave Leonardo a look of shock when she saw her shell.

“Of course, you have. You’re O’Neill’s daughter, he worked with Dr. Sacks.” Ebony quickly answered, getting nervous as April grew closer and closer to her.

“How did you know we were enhanced by Sacks?” Donatello asked again, eager to know. Ebony gave them all a blank stare which soon turned sour.

“Heminstein and Sacks belong to a Scientific Union which worked alongside the government. During the Cold War with Russia, technology was not the only thing in competition. Animal experiments, ranging from felines to canines, birds to fish. Domesticated animals were becoming more and more adaptable to the genetic altercations versus wild organisms.” All the group minus Donatello seemed lost in her words, it was as if they were talking to a second Donatello. The group’s expression resulted in Ebony repeating herself,

“Basically, there were a large group of scientists set up by the government. Whichever scientist created the best war weapon against Russia in their own category won a cash prize to continue more research. Sacks and Heminstein were elected to perform genetic testing on reptiles, which included turtles. From what I was told, Sacks laboratory was destroyed in a fire by one of his employees, which left Heminstein as the winner of the cash prize, as I was the only living experiment.” April shared the same glance as the others, stunned, curious, tense. Donatello was so fascinated by her intelligent diction, Raphael grew suspicious of her and why she suddenly showed up and being convenient. Leonardo was thrilled that she was opening to them, yet he was shocked and still comprehending that they were directly connected. He was on the same boat as Raphael, but he was more suspicious of her current behavior. Michelangelo had another question in mind,

“So, if the mad scientists experimenting on turtles, why do you look different than we do?” All the turtles look at Michelangelo like he had learned to walk as the intelligent question came out of his mouth. Ebony pushed her hair behind her ear,

"Heminstein had a different approach to experimental research. When I was a zygote, I was injected with _Reptilia Testudines'_ DNA,” Each brother and human looked at each other for hope of what she just said, of course no hope came from Donatello as he continued nodded eagerly. “Turtle DNA. They took a donated egg and fertilized it with genetically enhanced sperm from a male turtle. I was the only one that made it through birth without major developmental deformities or mental disorders.” Donatello clicked a couple of buttons on his wrist-pad and then a projection appeared in between the two turtles.

“That’s so incredible! You’re like the more-human version of us! Your physical anatomy is remarkably skilled for your age- “

“How old do you think I am? We were created at the same time.” Ebony rolled her eyes and Donatello seemed to be tapping away at every syllable. "So, you're like one of us?" Raphael mumbled questioningly, which his answer was a slight nod from the pained female. “Sort of.”

“Why are you in New York?” Casey was the next to ask, and surprisingly Ebony didn’t feel any tension towards him. His posture seemed neutral, only transfixed on the beautiful woman next to him. “I didn’t want to be locked up in a cage my whole life.”

A final flop on the couch sent sheer pain up her arms and shell, making her hiss in pain. Donatello sat down in the arm chair next to her, his oak eyes constantly wondering her physique. Mikey sat on the floor next to his oldest brother, almost leaning over him,

“So why aren’t you working with the government?” Ebony loosened up her strong façade and sighed heavily, mentally preparing herself for her little cliché spill.

"There is a lot more experiments like us than you think. Most are brought against their will, or are ‘killed off’ because they knew too much. Sometimes, we’re born into this captive and secured place that would never wrong us. Sometimes people would believe it, and I was one of those experiments. I... didn’t understand for the longest time as of why they took my blood, secured me in a small room with caged windows that only revealed the hallway. I thought that this was how life was, people taking care of you, medical tests every week, the only sense of safety were in the walls of Area 51.”

“You’re from Area 51?! No way- “Another loud kick from Raphael stopped Michelangelo in mid-sentence. Ebony smirked and continued her painfully memories, “Curiosity can never be caged. I had been exposed to the outside world by one of the scientist’s daughters who had gotten mutated at an early age in an ‘accident’. She had her room next to mine, full of so many toys from the outside world, books, paintings. Ramona Elisabeth was the only person who would tell me all about the outside world. I was so obsessed with finding out about your world.” A long puff of air came from her chapped lips. Exhaustion took over her mind, the weight seemed to fly off her shoulders, although some remained.

“It was hard adjusting to your life style. Having to understand the jargon and slang that was used in basic conversation is very complex to someone like me.” Donatello leaned forward with his elbows on his knees, “If we stayed in that laboratory, do you think we’d ever meet?” Ebony scoffed and stared at him with no doubt in her mind, “More than likely. We either be auctioned off for money and resources, potentially forced to be mated with, or even fought till the death.” Michelangelo’s interesting expression fell.

“Don’t have to be a buzzkill, geez.” Ebony shot a hateful glance at the little brother,

“Buzzkill? Bullshit! How do you think I felt when I learned that there were others just like me! My life was buzz killed when I learned that you were saved from this life that I’ve lived! I waited for days for someone to come and rescue me, to burn down the lab and set me free!” Ebony’s face grew red with anger, her eyes weren’t puffing up with tears, but narrowing in rage that had been asleep for a while.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know.” Michelangelo shifted behind his older brother, who glared at the mutant, ready to attack her and put her in her place if needed. But he watched as she stopped and studied the youngest brother’s face changing, and hers responded as such. She suddenly thought to herself and her paranoia took over,

“How do I know that you’re not working for Sacks, and that you’re holding me captive?” Ebony crossed her arms defensively and narrowed her eyes at Leonardo’s tolerant orbs.

“How do we know that you’re not working for the government and you’re secretly trying to give our location away?” Ebony’s brow rose in surprise at the leader’s sudden comeback. “I would never work for them. I’d destroy this perfect…” She motioned at her muscular arms and her shell, “experiment in any way that I could before they could get their way.” It was Leonardo’s turn to raise his eyebrows,

“Why not just fight against them?” “I don’t pick fights I know I can’t win. It won’t matter anyway, they have their ways of destroying evidence.”

“How can they destroy evidence that is not even theirs?” Ebony immediately stopped her thought process of her next reply. She never thought about it before, the fact that she wasn’t the government’s property anymore, unless they found her. His brothers were no less shocked, as they all stared at him in astonishment with their mouths wide open. They had never seen their brother so argumentative with anyone except Raphael. Trying to avoid the focus on her next reply, Ebony scoffed annoyingly and rolled her eyes.

“Whatever. I told you too much.” She gritted her teeth and straightened herself on the couch. Leonardo’s lip twitched upward ever so slightly at her amusing façade.

“You need your rest, please, sleep.” Master Splinter had mumbled, smacking his long staff against Michelangelo’s elbows, earning a sharp hiss from him. Casey joked and smiled with the four brothers who seemed to joke back, but playfully. Ebony watched as her tired eyes began to drop but not until she met the eyes of the ocean orbs from earlier.

“I’m sorry about what happened to you. How did you know my father?” April had asked the mutant woman carefully, keeping her distance.

“I’ve only seen his file.” April nodded, awkwardly shifting her weight back and forth to decide on the conversation topic.

“How did you know it was me, like, how did you know I was his daughter.” April asked curiously,

“You have his eyes. Also, how unlikely is it that a girl with the last name of O’Neill runs with a mutant crowd that happen to be turtles?” April had to agree on that note, but she still felt something nagging her.

“Do you think that it was fate that you meet the turtles? I mean out of all the places in the world, right?” April nervously laughed but it fell when Ebony’s eyes narrowed in either tiredness or annoyance.

“Fate is a steaming load of-“

“April, c’mon! Look at this new thing DonDon made!” Casey called to his girlfriend as they all huddled near Donatello’s hands. April smiled and anxious placed her hair behind her ear. April studied the fatigued woman, her cheeks were sunken in and her collarbone was quite exposed. April felt sympathy for Ebony, all this pain that she went through of those laboratories, she wished that she was there with the brothers, so that she could save her from the tests.

“I’ll talk you later. Get some rest. “

“Don’t tell me what I need to do.” April was taken back by her sudden rude behavior. With a swift lift of her leg, April left the couch and walked to meet up with the brothers, but she continued to look back at the mutant rolling on her side. Her shell was exposed to everyone, which revealed the wrapped bandages that were tinted pink from her blood. Ebony was trying to avoid sleep, but her body rejected her fight. After what seemed to be only a few minutes, Ebony was fast asleep. This was probably the best sleep she’s had in years. In forever.

* * *

 

_Ebony!_

Screeches of what sounded like loud birds and animals filled her ears. Something hard was constricting her body, limiting her perspective of the situation. Violently thrashing, Ebony attempted to free herself from her own skin that made her shiver in fear. Her eyes felt as if they would never open, like they were sewn shut. Complete darkness, cold and deep. She felt the fear settling into her scales, seeping further and into her veins. Goosebumps began forming, and she imagined that she would able to see her breath if she wasn't blinded. A strange voice called out. Ebony jumped. It wasn't a whisper, or a shout, nor mumble or bark. The voice was a deep groaning of fright that made Ebony worry of what her fate was to become. It came again, but closer and closer until she felt the hot breath licking her neck. She tried to yell, scream, cry out, but she couldn't. Nothing but air came out of her windpipes except a small squeak of fear. This time the voice called her name, constantly growing eager and louder. Squirming in her confinement, Ebony felt her blood run cold. "Ebony," It came again, but with a tone that seemed to set her fate. She would die, blinded and confined, never to see the world for what is really is. Just as that thought settled into her conscious, her tears began to form. With no way to open her eyes to release her tears, they made her choke, as if she was drowning.

A violently push on her arm caused her to scream and attempt to scoot away from her unknown assailant. Strong hands gripped her shoulders, almost as if they would leave bruises.

"Ebony!" Her eyelids flew open, the colorful lights blinded her dilating orbs. Eyes wide, she searched rapidly for who called her name. Mechanical binoculars zoomed into her face, the noise buzzing in her ears louder and louder that she thought she was going to cry. Moving her fingers, she was out of her confinement.

"Ebony, can you hear me-" A hard punch across the strange machine's face sent it crashing into the couch. Suddenly she remembered where she was, and immediately felt the guilt seeping in. Coming closer to her sleeping area, the three brothers from yesterday went to their brother's aid. Pulling up straighter on the couch, she held her elbows tight.

"Donatello…I, uh!" Earning a settling chuckle from the techie turtle, "Good arm, you’re better almost better than Raphael,” A growl came from the hot-headed brother, “I came to check on you because you were screaming and crying." an immediate blush ran across her face, while she tried to rub her red puffy eyes and the tear stains away. Donatello stood up, and went to place a gentle hand on her scaled shoulders, but hesitated.

"Are you o-okay?" A grateful nod and reassuring smile appeared on her face, which made Donatello feel relieved. Donatello removed his hand’s mission to land on her shoulder and slowly stepped away from Ebony, but lingered in the back of his brothers.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” She sighed heavily and threw her head against the cushion. After what seemed to be forever, Michelangelo stepped forward and crouched in front of the exhausted mutant. “Did you want some water?” Ebony shook her head, and the shuffling of Master Splinter’s robe along the cold floor came closer.

“What time is it?” She mumbled, “You’ve been asleep since last night at eight, it’s the next day, five at night.” Donatello replied. Ebony was shocked at how much time flied, she figured that her body was too exhausted and was manually shutting down her conscious so she could heal properly.

“Ebony, I wish to speak with you. Alone.” He eyed his sons and his human guests, who didn’t seem offended by any means. The four brothers walked away, but still the eldest brother’s ocean eyes continued to lock with her amber eyes. Throwing her head back onto the cushioned couch, placed her hands over her tired eyes. “I’m sorry for lashing out like that on your son.” He raised a bony hand,

“It is quite alright, he has endured worse. However, I can tell that you have seen more than me and my sons put together.” Ebony didn’t reply, but she did remove her hands from her face, and locked eyes with the large rat. It took some time, but Ebony nodded her head slowly. “My next question is a serious one so please consider it carefully.” Ebony waited unexcitedly for the follow-up question. “I believe that destiny has crossed our paths for a purpose. Would you like to stay with my family?”

“Sure.” Splinter was taken back by her quick response, “Ebony, what I am asking of you is not something that can be easily accepted- “

“Nothing is my life is easy. But I make it happen, and I mean, why the hell not? Its not like I have anywhere else to go.” Splinter stopped in his tracks and smiled in content. He was beginning to watch Ebony slowly come out of her shell to their family. He also didn’t forget to notice her sudden glances towards the shell of the blue-banded turtle and his interactions with the human guests.

“April O’Neill’s father destroyed the lab after hearing Sacks’ plan. April saved us from the fire that night, she released me and my sons into the sewers of New York.” Ebony finally faced Master Splinter with a distressed face. “I understand what she means to you.” Was all Ebony could spit out.

Why couldn’t she have been saved, have a better life? She continued to watch the eldest brother’s movements, curiously focusing on his shell and how he spoke. She was so entranced that she didn’t realize that he continued to share awkward glances back at her as well.

“Give them time, you will soon find that they are just as curious to know as you are. My sons have never had it easy, but once they find true friendship, nothing can stop them from protecting it. I know that your world has been built on broken trust and kindness, but allow my sons to show you their world and their trust just as April has shown them.” This time, Ebony pondered on the thought of trusting these experiments that had gone rogue and seem to be enjoying life to the fullest. Looking back at the old rat, she began to nod. Master Splinter patted her kneecap gently, his beady-black eyes blinking,

“I will try, but I cannot promise my instincts. Your sons have saved my life, I can at least try to repay the favor in friendship.” Ebony finally muttered as she looked over to the company who sat at the kitchen table, laughing and throwing straw wrappers at each other. The blue-cladded turtle met her eyes again, and smiled sincerely, showing off his brilliant white teeth. Ebony hesitated into the smile, and smiled back at the older mutant as she waved politely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Feel free to drop a comment or ask for requests as I am trying to expand my creativity. :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own the TMNT characters or plot line of the 2014/2016. Future characters (OC's) are adaptations of the original, but the character thought still belongs to Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird.

The painful sting in her lower shell caused Ebony restless night. She had been sleeping restlessly for the past two weeks, and nothing seemed to cure her insomnia. Tired eyes stared across the lair, waiting for someone to wake up and give her company. Unable to tell the time of day, Ebony figured because of the lack of noise in the lair and the deep snores emerging from Raph's and Mikey's bunk, it was probably still the early morning. The brothers haven’t really left to the surface since she’d arrived, and to be honest, Ebony found it all quite lovely.

She hasn’t had an actual conversation with someone, most of her encounters were polite small talk. April and Donatello were geniuses with science, and loved to hear Ebony’s experiences with different tests and hypothetical theories. On occasion, Michelangelo would join in on the conversations and would add his input of ‘Aliens’. Usually, Michelangelo was a little fonder of joke-making, which made Ebony laugh lightly. Ebony appreciate his attempt of making her smile, however, there was something still missing.

Raphael was surprisingly wonderful at conversation though he had major insecurities, and his tense feelings towards her seem to subside. Ebony always had great talks with Raphael, talking about almost everything from fighting, protein, physical anatomy of turtles, and the wonderful garbage truck. Ebony appreciated his company, and she began to feel as if he really enjoyed hers. Leonardo was a tricky character to decipher. He would usually talk to her during dinner, enlightening her with great stories and the amazing foes they’ve defeated. He was truly a story teller; however, he was also stern. During some of their conversations, he would always make sure he’d mention how crucial training was to him and his brothers, and how it was his responsibility to make sure they succeeded in battle.

Was he trying to impress her? She wouldn’t blame him. All of them, _male_ turtles, meeting a _female_ turtle that might be their own salvation of passing on their genetics? She could feel something changing in her as well, an attraction. Was it because of the hormones and scents she was picking up? More than likely. But she couldn’t help but listen to his voice, it was something about it that made her relax in her seat. Maybe it was the pheromones she was producing? Ebony smacked her face awakeningly, and shrugged her instinctual thoughts aside, she sat up slowly.

Huffing at her inability to rest, she slid painfully out of the grasp of the blankets that seemed to engulf her and the couch. _Must've gotten real cold._

Pushing up from the arm of the couch, Ebony shivered at the cold feeling that overcame her as her heat stayed within the blanket. Trying to move her legs, Ebony cursed colorfully. She didn't realize how bad the pain was laying down, but moving and muscles flexing was a whole different issue. Ebony looked around the darken lair and spotted a 3-foot bat that would probably be okay for her to use. Her feet shifted across the floor and she cringed, trying not to make a sound or wake up her hosts. When she finally reached the bat, she gasped at its frozen state. Never the less, she gripped it firmly and hurried on across the lair.

Not sure what she was really trying to do or find, Ebony figured that she could always walk around to relieve some bed sores. Ebony limped her way painfully around the pool that seemed to give off the cold air. She gently grazed her fingertips across the Meditation rug that was decorated with candles. Inhaling at the magnificent technology of Donnie's computers, she wobbled forwards and almost fell from the unknown step beneath her. Covering her mouth, she screamed colored words into her sweaty palm and shut her eyes. The trip sent sharp pains up her legs and into her shell that made the pain vibrate through her body.

A small drop of water echo through the lair, and Ebony poked her head out further and notice what seemed to be a small section off room, filled with laboratory equipment. Fear settled into her veins as her paranoid thoughts reverted to Area 51. Her body stiffened as she heard someone clear their throat behind her. Heart beat increasing, instincts kicking in, she already had a weapon. Gripping the pipe tightly, the scared mutant swung it around her body, only to stumble backwards by the force of someone gripping the bat.

"Well good morning to you too, Ebony. You alright?" Letting out a shaky breath, Ebony frowned nervously at the mutant responsible for the authoritative voice from before. Leo was rubbing his face with a tired expression, Ebony finally noticed that he had no mask on, and his usual shorts were replaced by thermal pajama pants. Without all his gear attached to his shell and chest, he was downright regal. He seemed so different, in a positive way, a way that she couldn't stop gawking at the way the lowly dimmed lights flickered on his green face-

"Are you okay?" Ebony jumped out of her skin for a moment, and then relaxed after remembering where she was. Now, her amber eyes lock with Leo's ocean ones, that seemed to reveal his tired and aggravated expression.

"Sorry Leonardo, I didn't mean to wake you.”

“Why are you even up at this hour?” He mumbled.

“I had trouble sleeping and figured I could walk around your home for a little bit." Ebony bit her tongue, already feeling humiliation for waking him up.

"Don't be sorry. I would be having trouble sleeping too if..." His voice trailed off after he realized what he was saying,

“If you were me? Oh buddy, you have no idea what it’s like to be me.” Ebony scoffed and lowered the pipe to the circular rug. Leonardo awkwardly leaned back and forth at the sudden silence between the two mutants. Ebony’s gaze wandered from the Middle-Eastern rug, back to the candle wax, and then towards Leonardo’s plastron. Leonardo obviously noticed her abrupt interest in his body, but coughed it away. Ebony smirked to herself and placed her hand on her hip,

“What happened to your attitude from before?”

“E-excuse me?”

“That sassy attitude you had the day I met you.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Leonardo bit his cheek and looked away awkwardly at the nearby kitchen. Ebony noticed his ‘trying-to-be-cool’ façade and only shrugged.

“Hm. Oh well. I really liked that attitude you had, it was intriguing. I mean, if you had one, of course.” She leaned in towards Leonardo at the last minute, pivoted, and began to walk near Donatello’s laboratory. Leonardo inhaled her scent quickly, but his thoughts were preoccupied by her choice of words. Intrigued? He smirked.

“Is your shell hurting still?” He followed behind her as she sluggishly made her way past the monitors and beakers.

“Eh, it’s fine. Just sensitive.” She mumbled.

"Oh, did you want some medicine?" Leo offered politely, but noticed that she sat down on his brother’s stool. Swirling around the laboratory, she moved around Leonardo’s shell and knocked on it once. Leonardo was not really prepared for that type of physical contact and jumped at the feeling.

“May I ask what you’re doing?” He nervously asked, she only swiveled back around to meet his lower plastron. Eyeing up at him, she shrugged.

“Did you know that your carapace is fused of a crap load of bones?” Leonardo was taken back by her question, but slowly shrugged.

“Uh, I guess. I mean Donnie talks about that stuff all the time but I- “Ebony stood up to meet the edge of his plastron.

“Never pay attention?” Ebony raised an eyebrow and smirked. Leonardo was slightly offended by her comment and her habit of interrupting, but found a way to slyly make his comeback.

“Didn’t know I needed to pay attention.” Ebony smiled joyfully at his sudden change of character and he smiled back in response.

“There’s that attitude I grew to like! Now, help me find some pain killers.” Leonardo rolled his eyes at her demands, but followed her lead in rummaging through the cupboards.

“Yes, ma’am.” Ebony elbow his plastron hard, which caused him to hiss in pain.

“Ow! What the hell Ebony?” She laughed quickly but quickly regained her composure.

“Don’t call me ma’am. Makes me feel old.” Leonardo muttered ‘oh-my-god’ to himself, although he knew Ebony could hear it. She shook her head and her hair lightly grazed his tattoo. As Leo was about 6'5, she only stood at under his shoulder, her being only 5'5. Leo seemed to find her height and weight laughable, only that she was very petite, but had a big mouth. Continuing their search, the two mutants sat in silence. Suddenly, irritation came over him as he couldn’t comprehend what any of these bottles said and he was the only brother that could read Donnie's writing.

"How does he even know what he’s writing?” Leonardo mumbled petulantly. Ebony glanced over at taller turtle and rolled her eyes.

“It’s alright, do you have any alcohol? Sometimes that helps.” Leonardo was stunned to say the least. He and his brothers seldom brought alcohol into their home, usually because Raph and Mikey found it near some citizen who was passed out. Leonardo knew that they weren’t legally old enough to be drinking, but then again, they were illegal experiments.

“I don’t think we have any left…” Leo lied. Ebony shrugged but muttered ‘yes’ as she picked up a bottle of Motrin.

"Would you like some water?" Ebony glanced over the pill bottle, her yellowish-brown orbs seemed to dance in front of him.

"Not right now. I’m hungry. Would you like to come with me to make some food?" She offered.

Normally, Leonardo didn’t like to have midnight snacks, but he didn’t want to waste this opportunity. Leo nodded and offered his hand to help her towards the kitchen, which she hesitantly took his bicep. Leo was much faster than she was now, which did seem to bother her a little. She remembered how fast she used to be, her immense strength and stealth. She was an independent mutant that was used to taking care of herself and now she was being baby-sat by four run-away experiments. Leo gestured towards the chair in his hands. Ebony felt almost honored to have someone give her so much respect and gentle care, she first thought that she was dreaming. She rejected his offer and stood across from him in the small kitchen.

"What would you like to eat?" Leo offered as he opened the fridge that lit up the lair. Ebony shrugged and thought about what she had last to eat, a small sandwich from yesterday that Michelangelo had made for her before she fell asleep. Stomach rumbling, Ebony decided,

"Anything’s good for me." Leo huffed again, rolling his eyes.

"Ebony, what do you want to eat." Ebony thought carefully, but figured that she didn’t want a heavy meal.

"Some toast would be nice.” Leonardo raised his eyebrows and looked stunned,

“Seriously? Out of all the pizza, spaghetti, ramen, rice, and everything else Mikey doesn’t seem to stop making, you choose toast.” Leonardo placed one of his massive hands on the counter top and the other on his hip. Sassy Leonardo was back at it again.

“Yep.” Ebony popped the ‘p’.

“Why?”

“Because Mikey won’t be making it.” She smiled as she moved towards Leonardo to grab the loaf of bread behind him. His familiar odor stayed in her nostrils, which sent her into a small dizzy spell. Leonardo noticed her odd behavior,

“You okay?” She half shrugged and half nodded, but was still gripping onto the toast.

“Just fine.” Leonardo realized that her nostrils continued to flare up multiple times and smirked to himself.

“What? Do I smell that good?” He said with a cocky tone of voice that caused Ebony to scoff and shake away her embarrassment.

“No, my shell just hurts.”

“Okay, whatever you say. Turtle-Sniffer.” Ebony stopped and gasped at the leader of the mutants who was currently placing the toast in the toaster.

“What the hell did you just call me?”

“Turtle-Sniffer? What should I call you instead?” Leonardo smirked down at the leaning mutant, who crossed her arms which caused her cleavage to be pushed up.

“You should be calling yourself that! I knew that you were inhaling my scent earlier!” Leonardo looked away quickly as if to see if the burners were red in the toaster, but Ebony placed both hands on the counter top and hopped up.

“What? Turtle got your tongue?” Leonardo was about to reply something that he would’ve probably regret, so he bit his tongue. Smirking, he began to laugh.

“What’s so funny?”

“You.” Ebony watched Leonardo as he made his way towards the jam in the fridge. Ebony shivered at the thought of that sticky substance. Leo kept his concentration on the jam jar, but his eyes wandered her face, which was fuming with blush.

"What’s the matter? Can’t take a compliment?" Leonardo placed a hand under his chin for supported and looked up at Ebony. Still irritated from the sudden focus on her, she rolled her eyes at Leonardo’s sudden change of character.

"Oh, just a little bit." Leo's mouth twitched into a smile that broke out into a scoffing laugh. Ebony huffed loudly, rolling her eyes. Leo suddenly realized that he might've gone too far with her and was about to open his mouth when she beat him to it,

"Leonardo?”

“Hm?” His ocean orbs lifted to meet hers as dug the spoon into the jar, he swished around the contents of the jam. Just as he was about to place the sweet tasting jam into his mouth, he saw watch Ebony’s facial expression fall. Immediately setting the jar down, he stepped closer to her.

“Hey, I’m here to talk if you want to talk.” Ebony didn’t register their closeness and when she turned her head to meet his face, they were only six inches away from each other. Leonardo immediately heated up and took a step back.  

The toaster had made a loud ting which made them both jump. Ebony reached for the toast quickly as it popped out of the toaster. Leonardo fought against her, tugging the toast away, but ended up ripping it in half. A humble chuckle from Leo erupted from his chest and echoed in her ears, which caused her to lose her strong-willed facade and fall to a small laughter.

"Okay, we suck at making food. Let’s not be in the kitchen at the same time." Leo laughed and reached for the nearby plate and began to place the warm, ripped toast. Ebony smiled larger and snorted,

“Please, I know how to cook for myself!” Leonardo rolled his eyes, opening and closing the fridge with his foot, and began to apply the butter. Motioning for her to sit down, he pulled the chair out for her, making her feel oddly special. He passed her the toast, with the jar of jam that Ebony eyed at suspiciously, and politely pushed it aside. Leo smirked and reached for the jam jar, and pulled a spoon out of what seemed to be his pocket. Digging the spoon into the jar, he swished around the contents of the jam.

"Ebony," The way her name rolled off his tongue made Ebony stop in her tracks. So much authority, grace, and kindness.

"It's okay to tell someone how you feel, we can’t really judge you because…”

“Say that we’re the same one more time, Leonardo and I swear I will kick you into next week.” Leonardo smirked at her aggressive nature, but saw that she was hiding a small smirk.

“Seriously Ebony. We like having you around. But I’m not going to allow me or my family to tread over you because you're our guest. You have a beautiful voice and I'm sure a willful mind, all you need to do is speak up." Ebony was taken back by his choice of wisdom that he shared with her. Ebony felt her mind go blank, only focusing on his kind words that echoed repeatedly. Unknowingly, her mouth seemed to drop, and Leo laughed at the sight.

"Do you want flies instead of toast?" Ebony immediately fell back into reality and began to chomp away respectfully at the meal that was given to her. Leo contently began to eat spoonsful of the jam, enjoying its sweet flavor. Soon enough, the two slices of toast disappeared and Ebony covered her mouth, and swallowing the final bite.

"May I have a napkin, please?" Leo scooted the chair behind him and reached for the napkins. A thankful nod came from Ebony as she wiped away the crumbs of bread.

"Thank you, Leonardo. I greatly appreciate it." Smiling, Ebony took two of the pills and threw them into her mouth, and quickly swallowed the Luke-warm water. Leo leaned back on the chair legs and rocked himself back and fell between them as she finished her water, his eyes never leaving her scales. He didn't know that he would be so drawn to them, how they shimmered dimly in the light. During the night, it seemed that she had shed her oversize jumper and was left with a tank top that tied in the back of her neck and connected at the bottom of her shell. The new shirt exposed some of her cleavage and her shoulders, which allowed Leo to stare at her scales.

Leo was intrigued by her physique, but was also pulled in by her defiant remarks. Did Leo find her interesting because she was feisty, or because she has similar body to his. Notably he noticed that she had her own plastron, but it seemed very pale, almost matching his. He knew in the last couple of days Donnie had a whole list on what to ask her, most likely on her physical conditions, personality, the tests they ran. It irked Leo to have Donnie continuously bug her and irritate her with questions, but on the other hand, Leo was curious as well.

A final tap of the glass against the metal table made Leo snap out of his trance.

"It's rude to stare you know," Leo found himself staring at Ebony's physique with an embarrassing look. Ebony smiled at her companion who seemed to be bothered by her sudden confrontation. Leo slammed the front two legs of his chair back onto the floor and stood up. Ebony braced her hands on the table and pushed upwards. Leo seemed to be at her side within two seconds to help her move. A smile formed on her lips, but was almost wiped away as she reached for her plate and glass. Shaky hands trembled the plate, and it soon fell to the floor. Immediately, Leo and Ebony reached for the plastic plate,

"I got it."

"Let me get it, I dropped it-"

"Ebony." That same stern voice with the tone of intentional authority sent shivers down Ebony's arms and sent a blush up towards her cheeks. Noticing her sudden change in character, Leo shifted his weight, to get a better look at why her face was so scrunched up. Ebony rolled her eyes, crossed her arms over her exposed chest, and huffed. Her facial expression sent Leo into a confused laughter,

"What's wrong now?"

"You’re treading over me, Leonardo." The harsh tone of voice that ended that sentence took Leo back. He felt almost offended in the way she addressed him, yet found it quite laughable. Seeing her pale lips in a tight line that indicated her annoyance at his stares and continued to put the plate away.

“I’m sorry, next time, punch me?” His playful smile made her grin in response. Ebony felt her legs grow tired and her body ached for the couch. Shifting her weight, she waited. For what, she didn't quite know, but she secretly was waiting for Leo's dismissal of his presence or offer of company.

"Are you feeling better now, Ebony?" Leonardo turned around after setting the plate aside and placed his hands behind him on the counter. Ebony was now the one staring; her eyes were traveling up at down his body. She too was curious about his physical state, and wanted to know more about their differences and similarities. Or were the hormones kicking in, making her want physical contact. Leo's plastron was much wider and a different shade of yellow than what she'd imagined. His chest was muscular, it was the color of honey in the dim lights of the lair, and his leathery green skin had different pigments and a variety of scars more than likely from his fights with the Foot.

"Ebony?"

"Y-yes, I am feeling fine now." Ebony quickly shot back with a red face. She didn't intend to come out harsh, but her embarrassment got the best of her, and seeing as Leo's eyes were glued on her face, she didn't have anywhere else to go.

“What! I saw something I liked.” She muttered to herself and began to walk towards the couch. Leonardo barely heard the last part, but still flushed at her excuse.

"Ebony, let's get you to bed." Leo mumbled, but no action was taken. Stopping in her tracks, Ebony's tawny eyes turned to lock on to Leo's marine orbs, which seemed to darken in the dim lights of the lair. Normally, Ebony would've ran away from the sight of anyone eyes darkening, but something seemed to draw Ebony closer to his eyes.

"Ebony..." Leo's voice trailed off, his large hand found its place on Ebony's scales, which tickled a new sensation under his hand. Ebony suddenly stopped and looked at his hand. Her orbs travelled up his arm and she finally made eye contact with him once more. Embarrassment flooded her veins once more, and Ebony quickly stepped backwards.

"I apologize, I was not myself." Ebony admitted shyly, Leonardo knew something was wrong, but he was sure she didn’t want to talk about it.

"I think the medication is kicking in," Leo placed both of his hands on her shoulders now, guiding her towards the couch. His right hand moved down, making its way towards the rim of her shell with such care. She shuttered silently, but in truth, his actions made her weak in the knees. Ebony shuffled her way towards the couch, but a loud snore coming from Michelangelo’s bunk sent her both into a giggle fit.

"Why can’t I sleep on the other side of the lair?" Ebony smirked and Leonardo playfully shrugged,

"Because there’s no bed? Also, my bed is the furthest away for a reason" Leo shrugged his shoulders and began to carefully help Ebony onto the couch.

"I’ll take your bed next time then." Ebony narrowed her eyes with a playful smirk, and pulled the blankets over her, "Are you okay out here by yourself? Do you want a heater?"

Shaking her head, she placed a cold hand on his callused shoulder, "Thank you Leonardo. Go get some sleep." Ebony smiled and took her time to slide her hand from Leo's shoulder. Leo watched as her milky white and scaled skin slid away under the covers. Smiling and placing a cup of water near her on the coffee table, Leo nodded back to her.

"See you in a few hours."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for reading! :)


	4. Chapter 4

It only seemed like an hour had passed since she fell asleep after her midnight snack. Leonardo had woken her up, expressing the same tired look. Her shell was healing faster now that she was getting the proper nourishment, Donatello made it known that she had to eat three meals a day, take her medicine with them, drink lots of water. Ebony smiled to herself, Donatello was the mother she never had.

They had sat around the table, Ebony sat in on the end next to Leonardo’s usual spot. However, Michelangelo sat down instead. Michelangelo was bouncing from excitement since it was Halloween Eve, as he called it. Ebony glanced at the springy turtle mutant as she frowned. Ebony seemed a little bummed out, yet shrugged it off as Leonardo offered her a faint smile. All the boys were dressed in their pajamas, yet here was Ebony, wearing her tank-top with a pair of loose yoga pants the Donatello let her borrow. April had to wait for her pay-day to find Ebony some large clothes to cover her shell, which Ebony respected.

“Alright everybody, it’s cereal day! Except for you Ebony, you get scrambled eggs and chicken noodle soup with a fresh glass of milk to keep your vitals up!” Donatello exclaimed as he placed the four boxes of cereal on the table and brought over her plate of food. Ebony nervous looked over at Michelangelo and Raphael, who smirked playfully. As Donatello was leaving the table, Ebony mumbled sarcastically,

“Thank you, mother.” Ebony neatly cut her eggs and toast, and began to devour the warm fiber and protein into her mouth.

It was during breakfast when the turtles got a call from April. Apparently, she had bought Ebony a couple of outfits and she would be coming over after work. She normally got off work around 6pm, and it was currently ten in the morning. Ebony internally rolled her eyes, she longed for a warm set of clothes, but she would have to suffer through it. A loud gasp from Michelangelo disturbed Ebony’s thoughts,

“Dudes! Today’s Halloween Eve! Leo, can we please go out tonight?!” Leonardo’s normal smile turned into a disapproving frown. He hated when his brother would manipulate him with his puppy eyes, but it wouldn’t work this time.

“No Mikey. Not this time.” Michelangelo looked so heartbroken at his eldest brother’s decision that Ebony even felt bad.

“What about tomorrow!? Please! At least the Halloween parade?!” Mikey whined,

“I said no, Mikey. Not this year…” Leonardo fished around his spoon in the bowl of milk.

“Why not?” Ebony asked this time, that threw Leonardo off his game. She had never mentioned about returning up to the surface, but figured that she dreamt of it. Leonardo held back a confused look,

“There’s been a lot of gang activity lately and I think that it’s best if we don’t go out.” Ebony looked over from the leader to the heartbroken youngest. She studied his fallen face, he reminded her of a little child who was told a lie from his hero. An idea popped into her head, although she was sure that Leonardo would scold her for it later. Deciding to keep it to herself, Ebony shrugged at Leonardo’s response, and continued to eat.

After a couple of minutes of silences, Mikey transitioned his train of thought,

“So, Ebony,” Mikey began talking slowly, which caught Ebony’s attention.

“Do you, u-uh,” He leaned in next to her and began to whisper, “Have you seen real aliens?” Ebony had to bite her tongue to not let her loud laugh escape. Instead she shifted in her seat, locked eyes with Leonardo and began to nod her head,

“You wouldn’t believe what they look like Mikey! They’re just like the movies! Huge, green, freaky SPACE INVADERS!” She clawed her fingers and jumped at Mikey, who immediately screamed like a girl. His reaction sent Ebony into a hysteria of laughter and her face lit up with a glow. All the brothers laughed with Ebony, but Leonardo couldn’t help but stare at the young woman with an earnest heart, his smile grew larger with each laugh.

Raphael’s nudge sent Leonardo back into reality. A raised eyebrow from his younger brother made the blue-masked turtle realize that he was staring once again. Biting his cheek, he rolled his eyes at his younger brother, a put on a face that said, ‘I-wasn’t-staring-I-was-laughing-at-Mikey. With that face, Raphael smirked and shook his head, continuing to shove more and more cereal into his mouth.

It was about an hour after breakfast when everyone had finished their conversations and Mikey’s teasing. Ebony had finished her plate and cleaned it off in the kitchen sink after everything else was washed, and she sat on the couch, lonely and bored. Figuring that she still had a while before April gets here, she could take a bath to allow her wound to clean itself.

Walking into the laboratory to find Donatello, she cleared her throat. The techie was hunched over and fully concentrated on his liquid-substance. He didn’t jump to badly, but he was surely shocked that she was standing in front of his lab.

“Oh, Ebony! What can I do for you?” Donatello asked with a blushing face, clearly embarrassed by her sudden interest.

"I really am growing sick of those wash-rags I’ve been using. Do you have somewhere I could wash up properly?" Ebony closed her shoulders in, and wrapped her hands around her arms and body, hoping that it would keep her warm. What she desperately needed what the warmth from the water. But her heart soon dropped at the sight of his face that held nervousness, deep thought and slight embarrassment? Raphael could be heard from the weight-room laughing loudly followed by Michelangelo. Both came down from the bright tunnel and met with Ebony and Donatello.

"Ehrm, well," Raphael coughed a fake little laugh, and shook his head while Ebony noticed his face growing more and more red by the minute. Donatello's face was growing the same red, but instead her just kept his distance away from Ebony as if she was covered in cooties. Ebony understood why they were growing nervous and embarrassed, it made sense, but why wouldn't they answer her? Leonardo finally stopped his katas to see what the commotion was about and hoping that he wouldn’t have to scold his brothers.

"Do you... not shower?" Ebony finally asked, hoping at least their eldest brother would reply, but all she received was his stoic face breaking. His usual stone feature was beginning to crumble under his embarrassment and his brother's reactions. She knew that when she went on her daily walk with Splinter, the brothers went off to go wash themselves, but where did they go?

"Ebony, we do shower. But not in the way you think we do." Donatello finally answered after reaching his sense of professionalism. Ebony's eye brows were already furrowed, indicating her increasing frustration and disappointment with the four brothers. A raised eyebrow gave Donatello the go to complete his comment, although he felt intimidated by her piercing ocher eyes that matched Raphael's.

"You see that pool over there, that’s where we bathe." Donatello pointed past the table, and at the large water slide that eventually submerge into the swimming pool. Ebony noticed the lime-scaled tiles that surrounded it, and figured that was from previous soaps. Ebony stepped past the three brothers and slowly made her way over to the body of water.

“You have a community bath?” She asked,

“Well when it’s only males who live here, it’s not really a problem.” Donatello explained. A stench filtered through the air, Ebony shrugged knowing that she had been in worse liquids. Eager to feel the water surround her, she removed her shoes from her feet, she dipped her scaled foot into the water. It was surprisingly warm and melted her frustration from earlier.

Leonardo shared a glance with Raphael and Donnie, which was rejected. Their childish eyes were glued to the mutant, who they imagined removing her clothing. Rolling his eyes, he tapped both on the forehead, and ushered them away.

“We have another place for you to wash yourself.” Donatello chimed in sadly, Leonardo turned to his brother, nodding at him that it was the right thing to do. Ebony turned to face Leonardo,

“There’s a small water fall that’s mostly clean-“

“Is it warm?” She interjected Donatello’s speech.

“Mostly, but it’s near the end of the third exit tunnel. We could escort you there if you’d like.” Raphael finished Donatello’s thought process for him, which earned him a sour look from his older brother.

“Sure. Anything to get myself clean.” Ebony muttered to herself as she reached for the nearest soap bar and large towel. Looking around, she saw a set of April’s clothing that she had offered to Ebony to wear sitting on the kitchen table. Grabbing the pile of fabric, she stood next to the tall mutants who began to lead her down the bright tunnel.

Ebony was taken back by the beautiful lowly lit water fall that cascaded down the pool in the sewer. The city lights from above shimmered against the warm water causing Ebony to gasp in astonishment.

“It’s absolutely beautiful!” Michelangelo injected his way into the front of the group of mutants and slung his arm around Ebony.

“Yeah, but nothing is as beautiful as you!” He whispered into her ear, but when Ebony turned around to meet his face, he was greeted by a sour grin. Releasing her from his strong grip, he backed away.

She inched closer to the water, its semi-decent smell filled her nostrils. Turning back to see Leonardo’s reassuring smile, Ebony placed her arms crossed over the edge of her sweater. Suddenly, she turned to see the brothers googling at her.

All four of them flushed with embarrassment and immediately turned down the tunnel they came from. Ebony forgot about the brothers, the water called her name with lust. She couldn't bear to waste another second thinking about how amazing it was going to feel. As she pulled the sweater over her plastron, an instant shock of pain shot through her body and a small yelp escaped her mouth. Standing as stiff as a board, Ebony waited for the pain to subside.

Leonardo was just leading his brothers away from the stripping mutant, allowing her to have space. But that painful sound that came from Ebony made him stop, her arms were attempting to reach the back of her sweater to lift it up and over her body, but she froze in pain. He knew the painkillers were fading away faster than usual. His brothers stopped as well, and peaked around the corner, getting a glimpse of her exposed stomach.

"Did... did you need any help?" Donatello's small voice echoed through her head as Ebony finally realized what she had been doing. She was about to expose her body in front of the brothers, without any notice. Slowly turning her head to meet his avoiding eyes, Ebony tried to cough away her embarrassment and negligence of the situation. She was so uncomfortably comfortable with exposing her body to strangers, especially while performing surgeries, tests, or even for routine check-ups. She knew there were men who would watch her and how she would dress in her small room with a two-way mirror.

"I...uh. No, I'm fine. Thank you." Ebony quickly muttered and was about to turn her head when she locked the eyes of Leonardo, who nodded in her direction. Ebony smiled shyly, and watched as the three brothers went down the tunnel to leave her in peace. Once the coast was clear, Ebony felt relieved, but worried for her next challenge. She still had to get this damn sweater off.

Down the sewer tunnel, the brothers could be heard talking about her hot plastron, sexy curves, and everything else that the young adults could think of. Donatello claimed that he was fascinated with her physique, while Raphael was ‘admiring her muscle’. Michelangelo was just about to join Ebony, for a quick ‘swim’, until Leonardo pulled him back towards the lair. Leonardo had to even hold his control back, his testosterone rising within him. With a quick glance, Leonardo looked back, as he was secretly curious of her, but knew it was not his place nor respectful to watch.

Just as Leonardo was about to turn around, Ebony was bent over, pulling her pants off her scaled calves. Immediately, he turned around and b-lined towards the lair.

Ebony sighed sadly and watched as brothers retreated into the lair. Slowly, she slid into the deep pool and relaxed at the feeling of the warm water surrounding her body. Holding her breath, Ebony slipped her head under the water and began to swim, twist and flip in the depths of the pool. It was almost like a baptism, of her worries and regrets of the past were washed away from this blessed pool. _Or maybe it's because I haven't washed in forever_... she smiled at herself and finally came back up for air.

Ebony got out of the warm water after fifteen minutes, much to her dislike. She had already missed the feeling of rinsing her hair out, massaged her scalp, and smelling the sweet smell of lavender and green tea. Gasping as she jumped out of the cold water, Ebony quickly searched for her towel. The nearby towel became her new source of warmth as Ebony wrapped it around her breasts and secured them tightly, the rest of the towel falling at her knees. Squeezing the rest of the water out of her hair, Ebony continued to dry herself in under the sewer vent. A sigh of relief came from her bright pink lips while she savored the moment. Allowing the towel to fall to her feet, she quickly scooped the clothing up and covered her body with it.

Unknown to the brothers, she ventured up to the surface and quickly ran across the street to pick up some old and spooky movies to watch with the boys tonight. Without any sound being made, she crept over to her car and pulled out her emergency money. Dodging the furniture and hopefully any of Mikey and Donatello’s gadgets, she grabbed her large sweater and one of Raph’s trench-coats before she left. She didn’t even make a noise as she snuck out of the tunnels, and finally, up to the surface.

She always liked watching humans enjoy Halloween; the costumes and make up amused her and seeing the kids super excited over candy was the best part. Seeing Michelangelo that upset made her think back to a young boy who was so sad that she didn’t have any candy. Fortunately, she did have a twenty-dollar bill, and slipped the little marshmallow boy her food money.

Within thirteen minutes, she made it back into the sewers and arrived at the lair by 12:56. She removed her bulky clothing and folded it over the CD’s. Running over to her small closet, she stashed the CD’s in a small corner. She changed her attire to something a little more suitable as she swelled with pride in her quick adventure.  

It had been around 45 minutes and still no sign from Ebony. Did she drown? Leonardo cursed himself for letting him think like Mikey, but was still worried. He heard her struggle with the sweater earlier but figured that she had gotten it off by now. Donatello was busy typing away on his hand-held tablet searching for anything relating to female turtle anatomy. Leonardo grew angry at his brother's stubborn and persistent curiosity. Raphael was going against the punching bag, probably letting off some 'tension'. Leonardo was dumbfounded that his two brothers, both more mature than Mikey of course, were so caught up in Ebony's physical features.

Leonardo bit his cheek in aggravation which was a bad habit of his. He knew he would get scolded later by Donatello when doing the routine dental check-ups. Suddenly, a small commotion in the main part of his home made his worries grow, and his curiosity spike. Slowly creeping out of the dojo, the blue banded turtle arrived at a humorous sight. Ebony was tripping over some of Mikey’s skateboards that he left out yesterday. Ebony strutted back towards the fridge, and Leonardo was stunned.

Her old tank top was replaced by April’s work-out tee-shirt, which happened to come up as a crop-top for Ebony’s shell. April had also left her baggy lounge pants there as well, which Ebony’s hips peaked out beautifully. But he saw something else as well which didn't shock him as much as he thought. Her arms and the base of her neck were covered in scarring and needle marks, more than likely from Area 51. Noticing a pair of eyes looking in her general direction, Ebony stopped and turned around. Locking eyes with hers, Leonardo stepped forward, trying to hide his erotic thoughts.

“Yes, you can see my scars. No, they don’t bother me.” She made her way towards Leonardo, who moved his way into the doorway, almost as if he didn’t want his brothers to see what he was seeing. Leonardo still tried to hide his peeking notions from earlier,

“I wasn’t looking at your scars…” He lied with a guilty smirk. Ebony placed hand on her hip and raised her eyebrow.

“You think that’s convincing,” her brow rose, “you’re so ridiculous.” She laughed and tried to peak into the dojo, but Leonardo got in her way. The flaring of his nostrils gave away her new scent,

“Where did you go?” Ebony didn’t realize how good their scent was, but figured that he smelt humans on her,

“I just went up to the top for a little bit it’s nothing.” Ebony tried to reassure the stoic leader, but there was no way to convince him now as he closed the distance between them.

“You went up there without us?! What if something happened to you? What if the Purple Dragons found out that you lived with us?!” His voice rose higher and deeper. Oddly enough, Ebony found herself mesmerized by his robust voice and felt her knees grow weak. Leonardo saw what he thought was sadness in her eyes, and sighed heavily with guilt,

“Look Ebby, I just don’t want something bad to happen to you…” His voice faded when her plastron clicked against her chest, Ebony’s gaze still focused on his ocean blues. When Ebony’s grip on reality snapped her awake, she gracefully took an embarrassed step back from the eldest mutant. He barely had enough time to inhale her white soap scent,

“Leonardo.” She said sternly. Something about the way she said his name like that made him feel nauseous, _was this what the term butterflies in my stomach feels like?_ He thought to himself and moved ever so slightly so that she could squeeze past him. Placing her hand on his plastron, she made the quickest eye contact that she’s ever had with the eldest, but it felt like an eternity.

Ebony stood still, her blush arriving on her face. Why was she so nervous? Why was her heart beating so fast? Were her hormones getting the best of her? Was this an instinctual attraction? Ebony breathed out quietly, hoping he wouldn't notice.

"I’m sorry.” Leonardo mumbled, his hot breath brushing against her face, but she smiled.

“It’s alright, I appreciate that it was a genuine concern for me. But Leonardo, you don’t have to worry about me. There’s more to me than meets the eye.” She flashed a toothy grin and continued her way into the dojo.

"Shut up, Mikey!” Ebony jumped at Raphael’s loud yelling, and Leonardo followed in behind her. The three brothers were arguing at each other, but turned their attention towards Ebony, giving her a nervous look. Even Raphael was at first intimidated by her fierce eyes, but then noticed her clothing. Michelangelo whistled at the sight, and eyed her up and down.

"What's with all the yelling?" Ebony pushed through the tallest brother, who seemed shocked at her cold arms and shoulders pushing past him. Leonardo was shocked to say the least, but his focus was still on Michelangelo’s behavior.

Donatello was more focused on the semi-dressed female in front of him. Donatello and the three others got a good look at her shell, scales, and her scars. Leonardo glanced over and saw his younger brother drooling at the sight, and a good slap under the bottom of the chin was enough to snap the techie brother into reality.

“Is anyone going to answer me?” She placed a hand on her hip, glaring at the four of them.

“Mikey was just being…” Donatello’s voice trailed off as the familiar scent of rat came into the dojo.

“Being…?” She grumbled again and Raphael began to snicker loudly. A glowing glare from Ebony sent shivers down Raphael’s shell, and he immediately went back towards his punching bag. He was usually intimidated by April’s fierce blue eyes, but something about Ebony’s eyes sent him straight. They glowed with gold hues against their amber background, the way she would narrow them reminded him that she was indeed a mutant.

“Go on shell-for-brains, tell her what you were doing?” Donatello laughed and nudged his baby brother playfully. Panic ignited in Mikey’s mind, he knew that if he spoke the truth Ebony would be deeply ashamed on him! Or worse, hate him! Raphael stopped punching the sand filled sack, hoping to see Ebony smack Mikey for his perverted thoughts of them, in Mikey’s terms, “Relish and continue the blood-line!”.

“I …uh, was saying how… uh. I was just saying how awesome it would be if y-you uh…!” Mikey nervously stuttered the last part and gave way to his eyes gazing upon Ebony’s not-so-covered plastron. Noticing his gaze, she snapped her fingers against his beak, causing him to jump back in pain.

“Michelangelo, tell me what you were saying.” Her soothing yet stern tone echoed in his head. Smiling guiltily, Michelangelo mumbled,

“Ifyouweretogoonadatewithoneofus…turtlebabies…” Ebony could barely understand what he was saying, but she gathered it was something immature. Rolling her eyes, she turned to walk out,

“Alright, well if you don’t learn to talk to me like an adult, I guess I can’t have adult conversations with you!” She sung away, Ebony rub her goosebumps away, and took a couple steps backwards as if she was ready to run for the exit.

“Ebby! Wait,” Ebony was intrigued by this new nickname that Mikey had awarded her in the last week, and turned to meet an awkward turtle. Mikey nervously played with his fingers,

“I was just talking about how cool it would be if ya know, we…?” Michelangelo’s face challenged Raph’s mask, who was in the background grumbling about how idiotic Mikey was and how Ebony would never date him. Donatello’s heart sank at the sight of Michelangelo’s proposal, and Leonardo’s chest burned with jealousy.

Ebony soon caught on to what Michelangelo was hinting at, and immediately froze. Back in Area 51, Ramona was obsessed with this huge idol, Justin Timberlake. She quoted the word ‘love’ multiple times, but Ebony never felt the concept nor understood it. She overheard one of the doctors saying how her emotions were nothing close to humans, her instincts were all animalistic. From that day forward, she believed she could never feel the heart-throbbing moments or the heartache. Although, meeting the turtles had doubted her previous thoughts. Her head began to spin,

“Michelangelo, I appreciate your offer. But, uhhh…” Her voice faded off, Michelangelo’s heart sunk.

“Come on, Ebby! It’ll be fun! Just the two of us, enjoying a couple movies!” Ebony bite her bottom lip carefully, but still smiled. Something about his offer made her stomach form in knots, something she never had imagined before. Before she could reply, Leonardo stepped forward.

“Mikey, if she doesn’t want to go on a date, then don’t force her.” Mikey rolled his eyes at Leonardo’s lectured voice, and threw his hands at his sides. Her eyes flickered to the taller mutant, and back towards the floor. Michelangelo noticed this small movement of her eyes, and it suddenly clicked. Ebony tightened her grip around her form and made a melancholy smile.

“Michelangelo, give me some time to think about it. I… I wasn’t allowed to accept loving emotions from strangers and some of that conditioning still lives in me now…” All four brothers had stopped what they were doing to locked on the smaller mutant. She didn’t reject him, but she didn’t accept his offer. Michelangelo was no longer worried about his potential date with her, but her emotional state of mind. Not being able to love something, or someone? Michelangelo couldn’t get it out of his mind.

“I, uh…should go get something to eat.” She mumbled and finally booked it out of the dojo. Leonardo had to control his legs because they felt the need to follow her. Leonardo knew she was still swimming with internal healing and judgement, but not being able to hold loving emotions?  

“My sons,” The four of them straightened up right away. They knew that they were in trouble from the minute they heard his voice. The cracking of Master Splinter’s tail sent shivers down their shells and eventually the back of their knees. Groans of pain echoed in the dojo while Master Splinter commanded that they were sent to the Ha’shi. Rolling their eyes and complaining about how it wasn’t fair, the four brothers stumbled towards the Ha’shi.

Lifting her old and bloodied clothing, Ebony was disgusted by the smell and herself. Ebony shivered under the cold sewer air, hoping that it was almost five. To her luck, she dreaded looking at the clock, but noticed how it was still early. She huffed in annoyance and figured that she would just deal with April’s tight fitting clothing.

She reached for an apple in the small bowl of fruit that was a customary gift for April whenever she would stop by. It was the brothers’ way of saying ‘stay healthy’ although they were shoving pizza in their faces all the time. Ebony took a juicy bite from the red apple and smiled at its taste.

Something shuffled in behind her, judging by the noise she figured it was Master Splinter. Before he even entered the kitchen, she turned to meet him. Her senses were becoming more and more heightened since she was receiving better nourishment.

“Is everything alright?” She shrugged her shoulders, but still nodded affirmatively.

“Yes, sir.” She smiled sadly. A sudden realization that she was not in the best attire,

“Master Splinter, I apologize. I’m not totally decent.” He nodded his head politely, not even moved by her distress.

“Not as decent as you were earlier?” Ebony suddenly questioned the direction of his point,

“You’re quiet and stealthy, but you do leave behind a trail.” Master Splinter motioned towards the trial of dried-up water spots that her hair had left as she made her way around the lair. Ebony smirked guiltily and rubbed her hand,

“Sorry, Sensei.”

“Do not be sorry! I applaud your stealth and agility.” Ebony smiled at his kind compliment, but suddenly wondered if the brothers had noticed it too.

“I brought you this,” He held out about three layers of fabric, they were old and ragged but were more than likely warmer than her previous clothes. A thankful and appreciating nod came from Ebony, who immediately looked around for a private area for her to change.

“We have a small room just to the side there,” Master Splinter pointed near her sleeping area to a gated arch-way. By this time, Ebony figured that Master Splinter could read minds, but thanked him anyway. Before departing the old rat, she respectfully bowed, and made her was towards the gate. After she was securely safe and away from prying eyes, she began to strip her clothing. Amber eyes traced each scar that she endured throughout the years, the bullet holes in her leg, the strained muscles. Breathing out, she slipped the sleeveless tunic over her shell and pulled the baggy khaki pants up.

It had been quite some time later since the boys were sent to the Ha’shi. Ebony snickered at the fact that they were put in time-out, but soon found herself bored inside of the lair. Mindlessly, she waltzed around the living area, hoping to find something to entertain herself with. A sudden thought popped into her head as she looked up and down the TV, and Ebony made her way to sitting down in front of the stand. She knew what it looked like, what it was, and what it could do. But could she figure out how? No, and that’s what troubled her the most. She understood what things did in the lair, but she was never given the instructions on how to do it.

This blew a huge whole into her movie night plan. Sighing heavily, she fumed and mumbled to herself, she grew annoyed at her lack of knowledge for this stupid machinery and her lack of not thinking the plan through all the way. Hitting a random button that resembled a previous symbol back in Area 51, she watched as the large screen lit up against the walls of the sewer. Fascinated by the digital art that appeared on the screen, she sat back on the couch and was entranced by the moving pixelated figures on the screen.

“Man, that was rough!” Raphael complained under his breath as he and his brothers wobble out of the Ha’shi. If performing their extraneous tasks wasn’t killing them, Splinter’s lecture was. He would continuously walk around them and continuing to whip them with his hairless tail, stating, ‘Ebony is a woman of gratitude and honor. Do not look at her with such way again, no matter how she is dressed.’.

“Geez, why can’t Master Splinter understand that as turtles, we’re naturally attracted to our kind…” Donatello was rudely stopped by a frowning Leonardo.

“Just because she has similar DNA doesn’t make her our kind. We’re different.” Leonardo said with his authoritative voice booming. Donatello rolled his eyes and threw his hands to his sides lightly,

“Well gee, Leo, sorry for getting excited when there is someone like us, who can understand at least what we’re going through!”

Leonardo rolled his eyes and huffed loudly, as he continued to walk with his brothers out into the lair, he overheard Raphael’s joke to Donatello, and growled at the brothers,

“He’s just getting territorial.” The snickers began, and Leonardo threw an index finger in his brothers’ faces,

“Ebony doesn’t belong to any of us and I’m not being territorial!” Raphael saw the hurt in Donatello’s eyes as his older brother yelled at him; stepping forward, Raphael got in between the two.

“Yo, we get it. Ya like ‘er! Doesn’t mean that you can constantly baby her.”

“Who’s being babied?” The shorter turtle popped up right behind Michelangelo, who screamed like a small child and jumped away from her. Leonardo, Raphael, and Donatello merely looked away and avoided eye contact with her, hoping that she would drop the fact she caught them talking about her.

“No answer? Eh, oh well,” She shrugged and began to push and shove the two oldest brothers towards the living area.

“Help me with the TV.” Donatello immediately thought that it was broken and began to look all over for the cause of its malfunction. “What’s wrong with it?”

“Nothing’s wrong. How does it work?” Ebony regretted the words coming out of her mouth, especially as Michelangelo hollered with laughter and Raphael followed. Leonardo couldn’t help but release a smirk, but placed a hand on her mid-forearm which she immediately shook away and glared at the brothers.

“Listen, I was never allowed to operate any entertainment device! I know what it does, but not how to do it.” She waited for an answer, but all she got out of the two were mumbles of acceptance and apologizes. Huffing at the brothers, she plopped herself a spot next to Donatello on the floor, and crossed her arms.

“Okay, so to put a movie, you just press this button called the eject button-“

“Don’t you have to pay to watch movies?”

“Only at a movie theatre,”

“Then why is it free here?”

“Once a movie is real big and popular, people sell it for profit.” Ebony had the most confused face that Donatello had ever seen. He knew that most of it was because of her lack of knowledge of the outside world and how it really worked.

“What movie would you like to watch?” Michelangelo already had couple of movies in mind, that would ‘settle the mood’,

“Let’s watch Star Wars! Oh wait, Star Trek: Beyond!” He jumped towards the kitchen to start cooking the popcorn, his yells of movie ideas echoed through the lair.

“What is Star Trek: Beyond?” Ebony asked,

“It’s all about space and technology, saving the world or an alien race, boring stuff.” Raphael muttered while he took his seat in the arm chair next to Ebony’s couch. “You probably won’t like it.”

Leonardo looked over at Ebony, who had a pondering look to her. Her mouth was squished and her brows were furrowed as she thought about it.

“Actually, I have a better idea!” Ebony jumped up next to Donatello and ran into her small closet area, hiding something behind her shell, she swayed side to side,

“What are ya hidin’?” Raphael wondered as he tried to look behind her.

“Well, since it’s Halloween, I figured we could watch scary movies!” Ebony revealed the hidden treasure behind her back, and showed off the movies. _Jeepers Creepers_ , _Scream,_ and _Nightmare on Elm St._ Michelangelo was so excited by the sudden addition of movies to their collection, he shrieked and stomped the ground in excitement. Michelangelo lifted Ebony in the air and repeatedly thanked her for movies.

“Ebony, where did you get these?” Donatello asked, but Leonardo already knew the answer. He remembered her little adventure she took to go up to the surface without them while she was ‘washing up’. Shrugging, Ebony shuffled her away over to the couch and sat down,

“I have my ways.” She smirked at Michelangelo’s babbling about which one to watch first.

“I don’t care where she got them! You got good taste Ebby! Thank you so much!!” Another bone crushing hug made Ebony laugh lightly and shook her head.

“You’re welcome, Michelangelo.” She smiled up at him, and he smiled back. He was so happy to have another turtle in the house, his brothers could be so mean. April was great, but she wasn’t there all the time. She was the best and only sister he ever had! _Ting_.

“Popcorn’s done!” Ebony watched as the crazed turtle ran back into the kitchen. Leonardo rolled his eyes, and went towards the couch.

“Mind if I sit here?” Ebony wasn’t about to object to it, and she snuggled into the corner of the couch to make room for Leonardo. Raphael rolled his eyes and internally mumbled at his love-struck brother. Mikey noticed it too, and only made mocking kissing noises and mumbled the ‘singing-in-the-tree’ song.

Plopping himself down on the couch, he watched as his Brainiac of a brother continued to skip the advertisements. Leo placed his foot on his other knee and relaxed into the cushions. He flung an arm across the top of the couch without any notice of Ebony eyeing his sudden move. Leonardo paid no attention to the mutant female on his right, but waited impatiently as his youngest brother hastily ate the popcorn.

Raphael had nuzzled himself in the armchair, and plopped his legs up on the small ottoman. Donatello made himself comfortable on the throne-like furniture, his shell resting up on the arm. In one hand, he had a pen that was scribbling away thoughts and ideas in a notebook that was held by the other hand. Ebony reached behind her and grabbed the blanket from earlier and draped it over her body. She was even colder from the bath, but she knew it was desperately needed.

It was forty minutes into the movie when Leonardo felt covered feet against his thighs. He looked over and saw the female turtle, her position was relaxed and comfortable, her hair was straight and still looked damp from her bath. She was peacefully watching the lit screen; her eyelids were beginning to drop and she paid no attention to the mutated turtle glancing over at her.

The first movie was almost over, and Leonardo continued to steal glances over at Ebony. Not once did she jump throughout the entire movie, even when he did. The bright screen highlighted her cheek bones attractively, and he noticed the slight curl of her autumn tresses that came alive from the newly found bath.

“Hey guys, I’m here!” April called out as she walked into the lair at the time, which caused Ebony to jump out of her skin, her conscious didn’t stop her from grabbing Leonardo’s arm for safety. Leonardo jumped at her sudden action, but continued to look away with a flustered face. Blushing in embarrassment, Ebony gracefully removed her hands from his body. Leonardo took his time getting off the couch, but noticed that Ebony was already on her feet and a yard ahead of the four of them. Smirking in admiration of her healing, the eldest brother lead his brothers towards Don’s computers.

April had arrived with two medium size shopping bags, and a small suitcase that had Casey’s personality all over it. Ebony came up towards her, and gracefully thanked her multiple times.

“Ebony, it’s really no problem. I wouldn’t want you to be walking around naked with these boys anyway.” She winked playfully and lightly laughed. Although Ebony smiled at the joke, she shook her head to erase the thought of her and brother’s eventful morning. April began to open the bags as she was determined to find the one with lingerie and woman necessities.

“This bag is the secret bag.” She whispered and passed it into Ebony’s arms, but she was totally confused.

“Secret bag?” April slowly nodded and furrowed her brows, “Ya know, women stuff?” Ebony was still confused but the sudden realization that turtles don’t even have that problem occurred to April, who profusely apologized.

“Like the time of the month stuff? Ew! Gross!” Michelangelo butted his head in between April and Ebony. Both avoided eye contact and Ebony rolled her eyes, pushing his face away from them,

“Yes, Michelangelo. I’ve never had them before and I’m genetically modified not to.” April smirked and smiled,

“You’re lucky. I’m sorry for thinking that you…” Ebony smirked at her reaction but accepted the apology, and found it quite laughable that she was worrying over a small misunderstanding. Donatello came up close and curiously asked,

“Does this mean you cannot get pregnant?” Ebony dropped the small bag of clothing and immediately blushed.

“I don’t know Donatello because I’ve never tried to. But if that ever happens, you’ll be the first to know.” Ebony replied harshly, which made Donatello felt utterly horrible for asking such a question.

Ebony smiled and thanked the human again, proceeding to dig through her bag. She wondered curiously at all the wonderful colors and styles that April had. Most of them were khaki and cargo shorts, different colors. Multiple muscle shirts, tank tops with thick straps, many bando-tops, and of course a lot of zip of sweaters.

“I really appreciate your generosity April.” She smiled politely, but fiddled with her fingers, “Sorry they’re only men’s clothing, I got the feeling that your shell wouldn’t fit in women’s.” Ebony shrugged and closed the bag,

“I’m used to being bare, so this doesn’t offend me.” April was shocked, but looked down at Ebony’s arms, noticing her long scars and bullet wounds. April nodded and fake a smile of sincerity, lifted another bag and set it on the table.

“I found some of Casey’s old sweaters and beanies, the guys had mentioned that you were getting cold down here.” Ebony was feeling oddly blessed, but smiled even wider at her kindness. Ebony looked over at Raphael, who looked away shyly.

“It means a lot to me, thank you…” Ebony’s voice wandered off, as her focus was concerning her next action. 

Ebony leaned forward and wrapped her scaled arms around April’s small frame. April was stunned, shocked, freaked out but not freaked out. This was the first act of affection that Ebony had ever expressed in the last two weeks of knowing her. The brother’s thought of it as a good sign, of course Michelangelo wished that it was him she was hugging.

The boys and Ebony had finished their conversation with April, who left shortly after arriving. Michelangelo dragged Ebony back to the couch and begged her to watch _Scream_ with him. Ebony looked back at the three oldest brothers for help, which only Leonardo and Raphael obliged themselves to keep her company. Donatello declined, as he continued some tech savvy gift for Casey’s upcoming birthday.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do apologize for the long wait, college kicked my butt along with wedding planning! Always appreciate kudos and comments!

The bright blue digital clock chimed once when it reached close to 12 in the evening. Raphael and company had finished watching Scream, which frankly, wasn’t as good as they were hoping for. That was mainly because of the previous horrors they’ve experienced in the young lives. Groaning, Raphael retreated to his bunk bed for the night. In truth, Raphael loathed horror movies because of the victim’s stupidity, for example: the lonely girl who falls and hurts her ankle, allowing her attack to grab her. This always left him in a bad mood. Once his moody presence left the room, Ebony, Leonardo, and Michelangelo fell victim to watch Jeepers Creepers. Leonardo had no choice but to sit on Raphael’s recliner because Michelangelo lounged along the couch, and Ebony had rested her shell against the front of the couch. Leonardo noticed that the Michelangelo had drifted in and out of sleepy consciousness, and Ebony was gradually joining him.   
It felt like an eternity until the movie finally ended. Leonardo sat up and stretched longingly, as if his bones were 100 years old. The satisfying sound of his joints snapping and cracking made him sigh delightfully. Leonardo looked back over to his younger brother and Ebony who lounged on the couch.   
Michelangelo was fast asleep, his soft snoring eventually getting louder and louder. Ebony was asleep too, but she seemed like she was lifeless. Leonardo’s heart skipped a beat as he knelt beside her. Her breathing was shallow, but consistent. Her messy bangs fell against her dark eyebrows, her bare lips parted slightly. Leonardo bit his cheek in apprehension; he could easily swoop in a steal a kiss from this beautiful woman, but he didn’t want to be disrespectful.   
Instead, he flashed his blue eyes to his little brother, whose arm dangled off the couch. There was no way that Leonardo could pull Michelangelo off the couch without waking the both up. His gazed finally settled on Ebony, whom which he placed his large hands under her armpits, and hoisted her against her his plastron. His arms snaked under her butt, and his large digits locked with each other. Leonardo couldn’t help but feel his cheeks heating up quickly, his heart beat racing. He was so worried that he would wake her up, or even drop her. She wasn’t as light as she was the first time he carried her. Her biceps have grown, her shell felt less hollow when tapped against, and most importantly, she gained weight.   
She was finally becoming healthier, stronger, faster, and more beautiful than he could ever imagine. Her pale amber eyes were more vibrant, her opaque skin was a glowing milky white, and her scales. Man, Leonardo could go on and on about her scales; how the green contrasted so well with the dark brown which shimmered in the light. He couldn’t get enough of her scales.  
Leonardo carefully stepped up the stairs leading to his bedroom when he accidentally hit the side of the steel pillar. Leonardo froze and hissed in pain, but his expression for his pain was silenced by the feeling of cold fingers wrapping around his neck. His grip around Ebony shifted, and he realized that he was staring into the tired tawny eyes of Ebony.   
His throat was closing tighter and tighter with her grip, until her exhausted mind continued to process who was holding her. Leonardo narrowed his eyes in determination to make her realize that she was choking him, which worked. Ebony immediately muttered,  
“Oh my gosh, Leonardo. I’m so sorry- I didn’t know who you were and-“  
“It’s alright Ebony, I wasn’t trying to wake you.” Ebony smiled and looked down at his soon to be swollen throat. Quickly, she ran her fingers against his neck and a frown came across her pale lips.   
“Leonardo, I’m truly sorry.” She said with such grief, but Leonardo’s mind wandered to the shocking fact that she did not realize he was still holding her against his chest. His heart beat raced, and is mouth quickly opened.  
“I’m not.” Ebony was initially very confused by his words, until she felt his hot breath skirting across her face. She felt her legs securely wrapped around his shell, her lower regions right on top of his mid-plastron. Her face heated up like it’s never done before, and she was at a loss for words. Thankfully, Leonardo spoke for her,  
“You fell asleep on the floor, so I was taking you to sleep in my bed.” Ebony was still feeling her heart race at the feeling of their proximity. Leonardo suddenly realized the intensity of what he had just said, and he began to fumble over his words,  
“N-not like that though. Like I was taking you to bed. Oh, wait, no. Ugh! I wanted you to sleep somewhere comfortable! Not with me! But uhm…” and it continued like this in harsh whispers and cursing against his stupidity. Ebony’s heart finally slowed down, but her skin was still hot with his intimacy. Instead, Ebony placed a finger against his smooth lips,   
“Leonardo. It’s okay, I’m not mad. Just set me on your bed, and we’ll see what goes from there.” Her beautiful whispers sent Leonardo’s heart soaring, did she just say…? Ebony didn’t realize what she was saying until she replayed it back in her mind. What did I get myself into!? Leonardo took two more steps until he reached his bed, which was perfectly made like always.   
Leonardo gently unlocked his fingers from underneath Ebony as he laid her down on the bed. Ebony braced herself by gripping his elbows. Her tired expression didn’t go unnoticed by Leonardo, who sat down on the bed next to her.   
“I’m sorry I woke you up.” He whispered.  
“It’s okay. I’m glad you did.” She smiled and placed her fingers in her lap as she twiddled her thumbs.   
“So, uh… did you enjoy the movie?” Leonardo sheepishly asked.  
“Uh, yeah. I mean, I’ve seen worse, so it was okay.” She smiled with no enthusiasm. In truth, she was so tired, she didn’t pay attention to the movie. Instead, her focus was on Leonardo’s neck, which seemed to continue swelling. She faced herself towards him, and scooped one of her legs underneath the other. She soon became comfortable with the lack of space between her and Leonardo, his aroma of lavender soap intoxicated her. Leonardo, on the other hand, was a complete train wreck; his palms were sweaty, his eyes were glancing back between her eyes and lips. He didn’t know how long his ‘Mr. Cool-guy’ façade up, especially with her glistening orbs looking into his brilliant blue ones.   
“Leonardo, your neck is so swollen.” She reached up and grazed it for the second time that night. Leonardo tensed up under her blissful touch, and his face felt like it was on fire. Ebony didn’t let his shortness of breath slip past her knowledge, instead, she welcomed it.   
“It’s a-alright, Ebony. I promise it doesn’t hurt.” His husky whisper sent shivers down Ebony’s shell, causing her fingertips grazed his leathery green skin. Leonardo suppressed a shivered sigh of pleasure, as he reached his hand up to meet hers. Ebony was shocked and instinctively tore her hand away. Leonardo still held onto her wrist, not wanting to let go.   
“Ebony, it’s fine. My neck doesn’t hurt at all.” Leonardo grinned as he searched her eyes for reassurance. Ebony smiled and slowly lowered her hand with Leo’s onto the bed sheet. Ebony’s smiled turned into a grin as she began chuckling, which made Leonardo think that he did something embarrassing.  
“What?”  
“What if your brothers think that’s like a giant bite mark or something? Like we had sex?” In the plainest enthusiast tone ever, Ebony whispered and held her laughter in with her hand. Leonardo was shocked that one, she would even think about his neck that way, and two, that she thought of sex! Ebony was a survivalist, not a dirty-joke maker.   
But nonetheless, Leonardo laughed along with her in hopes that they could change the conversation.   
“How crazy would that be?! If they thought we did that!” She continued to laugh it off, but Leonardo didn’t think that she realized how crazy this made him.   
“And if we did? How crazy would that be?” Leonardo immediately regretted his words and he bit his tongue hard. Ebony stopped laughing and looked at him with a wandering expression. Ebony waited for him to say, ‘just kidding’ or ‘I’m just joking’, but nothing followed.   
“Ebony, I’m kidding!” He half-lied. If he had the chance to even kiss Ebony, he could die happy right then and there, but he enjoyed everything about her. But he was not experienced in the love department as much as she was, so there was no hope for them.  
Ebony studied his quizzical face, and immediately noted that he was not joking. Either way, she knew it wasn’t right to be behaving this way. He had only said that to ease her rejection. Ebony slowly removed her hand from his, which caused her much heart ache.  
“We better get to bed, at this rate, we’ll be waking up your brothers.” As soon as that came out of her mouth, she shook her head at her sexual suggestion once again. Ebony muttered and sluggishly pulled her shoes and socks off. Leonardo sighed in disappointment at himself and knew it was useless to try and reconsolidate with her. He could have made a move, asked her on a date, hell, he could have suggested sex! But he knew it wasn’t right.   
Leonardo made himself comfortable against the lounge chairs as he covered himself with a navy-blue blanket. His gaze was originally fixated on the aged ceiling until Ebony’s mumbling distracted him.   
“Ebony.” Leonardo whispered, Ebony rolled over on her stomach and hid her mumbling face away from his ocean blue eyes.   
“Ebony? Come on, tell me what’s wrong?”   
“I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable Leonardo. I was just trying to be funny like your brothers.” Ebony frowned as she tightened her grip on the sheets. Leonardo instantly rolled his eyes, not at her, but at himself. He felt guilty for his awkward actions, especially now that she felt bad.   
“You didn’t make me uncomfortable. It’s just…” Leonardo bit his cheek, this was the time to be honest, “the idea of it all is very serious to me and uh, I don’t want to make my brother’s jealous of the idea that we uh… ya know.” Ebony was now rolling over to face Leonardo as he spoke gently. She couldn’t get enough of his sultry voice that made her heart pound with every word. Suddenly, an idea came to mind and Ebony’s thin lips curved into a smirk,   
“So, you’re serious on the whole sex thing, then right?” Leonardo stopped in mid thought, he slowly looked over to see if Ebony held a serious face. He jumped when his gaze met with Ebony’s longing gaze and pushed cleavage. He quickly looked at his bonsai trees, and spoke quickly,  
“Yes, I’m serious.”   
“Then why don’t you want to make your brother’s jealous?” Her smooth voice sent shivers down Leonardo’s shell as he coughed slightly.   
“I just, uh. I don’t know, I’d like to get to know you more I guess.” Ebony’s teasing stopped when Leonardo whispered the last part. She felt her chest tighten, her face heated up and she bit her lip. She has no idea what was taken over her thought process, but she enjoyed it.  
“Are you asking me on a date?” Ebony smirked as she waited impatiently for his reply. Leonardo was swimming in his own hormonal thoughts, his face put Raph’s mask to shame while he decided on his next sentence,   
“If I was, would that be a problem?”  
“Not at all. In fact, I encourage it.” Leonardo smirked and shook his head in disbelief, that he and Ebony were about to go on a date. But then, he suddenly began to panic. He had no experience in the romance department, he didn’t even know where to take her, what she likes, oh my gosh, what if she expects a kiss on the first date!   
By the time Leonardo focused his attention on Ebony, he noticed her soft breathing and her fetal position. Leonardo smile soon faded at the worrying thought of their first date and all the romantic nausea that came with it. ________________________________________  
Mumbled whispers caused Ebony to flicker her eyes open and narrow at the unfamiliar lighting. She rolled over to see that Leonardo’s lounge chairs empty, but the blankets were perfectly folded. Resting on her elbows, she rubbed her eyes free of any eye junk and ran a hand through her messy hair.   
Suddenly a large mass came towards her, arms and fingers stretched out as their hands grazed and tickled her delicate sides. Howling in shocked laughter, Ebony tried to push the intruder, who is now exposed as a mask less Michelangelo, off her body. Of course, their laughter sent everybody out of their sleep or half-awake state, and Leonardo stared over at his room.   
Something brewed in Leonardo’s chest, something aggressive and territorial erupted in his chest as he stared at his little brother’s tactics to wake up his soon to be date. Leonardo grew more impatient with his brother’s actions and frowned at Ebony’s. She never stopped Michelangelo from acting like that, maybe it’s because she likes him. That made his teeth grind together in a growl. Finally, the stoic leader in blue yelled with such authority,   
“Michelangelo! Training starts in thirty seconds, move it!” Michelangelo scurried away from Ebony’s newly found bed and ran straight for the dojo like a dog with his tail tucked in between his legs. Ebony finally sat up straight and squinted her eyes at the blue-clad turtle who aggressively motioned to his brothers to join him in the dojo. The large mutant turned to look at Ebony, who was fuming with anger.   
Ebony glare met Leonardo’s upset gaze. Frowning in disappointment at his sudden behavior she could smell the protective nature rolling off Leonardo’s body, however, it didn’t excuse him to lash out at his younger brother that way.   
Yet, Leonardo was still unfazed by her attempt to express dissatisfaction, it was already said. But in truth, he didn’t know why he became territorial, this sudden urge to take charge took over his cool persona. Leonardo continued to scold himself mentally, but on the outside, he was still furious with the affectionate exchange that Ebony and Michelangelo had.   
Ebony had found herself making her own breakfast, which consisted of eggs, a slice of bread, and an apple. The boys weren’t even half-way through training when Ebony finished up her unappetizing breakfast. She washed her dishes, placed on new clothing, and put all the blankets and pillows back in the closet as neatly as she could.   
The thought of Leonardo’s actions were glued on her mind. His ocean eyes were glowing in rage, something that she had remembered in her younger years. She never imagined seeing that look from another mutant, especially one so close to her. Depressed thoughts clouded her mind as they raced to one result of his sudden behavior. She was tearing apart his routine, his duties as a leader, and his brothers. She wasn’t oblivious to the constant flirting of Michelangelo or the subtle gestures of affection that Donatello would leave her. And of course, Raphael’s direct eye contact with her, which was followed by a cocky smirk.   
However, Leonardo sent a different message; hesitant persistence. As silly as that might sound, it was true. Leonardo was highly persistent on winning Ebony over, but he was always hesitant about it. Ebony was worried about their hopefully planned date, would he totally drop it now because of his jealousy. She hoped not, but she could tell he wasn’t the only one with a territorial issue. The constant glares of disapproval from Donatello whenever Ebony would laugh at Leonardo’s jokes, Raphael’s angered face when they would sit on the couch together, although Michelangelo has found more entertainment through tormenting his older brother about his crush, Ebony always noticed Michelangelo’s upset expression during a routine breakfast talk.   
Ebony stared down at the small hole in her jeans and began to toy with it. Ebony’s heart began to ache from these heart-sinking thoughts. It wasn’t a priority to be romanced after, but it sure was different than what she is used to. She never experienced love, nor was she ever given it. For her whole life, she was taught to be a survivalist, someone who was selfish and only worried about themselves. Ebony feel better about herself when Leonardo showed his affectionate side to her. These past weeks have been crazy and stressful, but Ebony still felt safe.   
But her sense of security was failing, the boys were constantly glaring at each other for domination, they weren’t acting as a team. Ebony knew it wasn’t entirely her fault, but she would still take the blame. A sudden drop of liquid fell on her jeans which surprised her. She didn’t realize that she was beginning to tear up, but the petit turtle quickly wiped the evidence of her sadness away and drew in a deep breath.   
Huffing in boredom, Ebony glanced around the lair to find something to do. She missed having the boys around to keep her company, but she knew that the turtle she wanted to spend the most time with was angry at her. Ebony wandered over to her couch and flopped down on the now creased cushions. Ebony’s eyes counted every pipe that laid above them, concluding that there must’ve been at least fifteen pipes that connected into different tunnels, and another five the connected each pipe. Curiosity took over her emotions, and she concluded that she would find a way to get herself up there to the very top.  
Looking around, she saw the garbage truck was probably her best bet to get onto one of the pipes. Bounding across the kitchen, she leapt on top of the garbage truck without making a single sound. She grabbed onto a small pipe and shook it lightly to test its stability. Once she was certain it would not budge, she used it as a tightrope, and cautiously made her way across and onto the other pipe. The rest of the pipes were sturdy and heavily bolted, which gave her confidence to continue to hike up to the top of the sewers.   
It was in a matter of minutes that she made her way up to the top. She wondered if the brothers had ever been up here, but she confirmed that they had not because Donatello would probably have made some sort of security device or alarm system up here. Ebony reached the final pipe and smacked her head against the cold concrete that held up the surface. Wincing at the pain, she looked for another pipe to crawl across, but found something else instead.   
To her left was a discrete entrance that was big enough for even Raphael to fit into. Ebony crawled her way over to the entrance and saw a small ladder the also led to the entrance, which meant it could be a small sewage room. She made her way into the entrance, her footsteps quiet and precise.  
When she entered the room, she saw something oddly beautiful. The room was dimly lit by an old light bulb that had dead bugs all over it. It was only about 8ft by 11ft, but it was still cozy. An old desk and discolored chair laid in the corner, a couple of crates here and there, a small foam mattress in the corner along with the light bulb. Ebony was captivated by its magnificent structure and its alarming cleanliness.   
Leonardo’s demand for her name interrupt her new-found room, but none the less, she bounded down the pipes gently and gazed over the four brothers who continued to call her name. The four brothers grew worried, more so Leonardo, whose thought was that she left because of his behavior earlier. Great job, idiot! His thoughts began to swarm with hateful comments at him, telling himself that he should’ve been the bigger man and not fall into emotions such at anger.   
A mischievous grin played on her face when an idea came into her mind, she prayed that Michelangelo wouldn’t be upset with her for this, but this was the best idea she had to lighten up the mood and forget about the tension,  
Ebony leaped from the pipe and reached out to grab Michelangelo’s shell. Unfortunately, the sound of her shoes scraping across the pipe alerted Leonardo, who pushed Michelangelo out of the way instinctively. Ebony’s face smashed against Leonardo’s, not in the kissing sense, but full on nose in the eye ball, beak in the neck. Both turtles got wrecked.  
Ebony’s force of speed sent Leonardo barreling into the ground, with the smaller mutant above him and then underneath her. Leonardo groaned at the sudden contact on the cold floor, he was about to pin whoever it was that attacked him, but he recognized her scent. Leonardo sat up slowly,  
“What the fuck was- Ebony?” Leonardo looked down at watched as Ebony rubbed her neck in pain. Slowly, she made regretful eye contact, but her eyes wandered to his muscular body that rippled with sweat from their previous training session. When her eyes went lower, she saw that her lower regions were right at his. Her face heated up and she snapped her head up to meet Leonardo’s aggravated frown. He surely smelled her pheromones seeping from her body, and immediately tried to hide his own arousal and those of his brothers.   
“Ah ha! Leo! Uh, Boo?!” She smiled shyly, her beautiful smile that sent his butterflies in his stomach fluttering. All his anger from before was gone as he studied her glowing face. Rolling his eyes, the corner of his lips tugged upwards, but they were suddenly set into a frown when Donatello and his brothers walked up,   
“Yo dude! You got taken down like that!” Michelangelo laugh loudly, while Donatello helped Ebony off the floor, Raphael did the same to Leonardo.   
“Geez Leo, didn’t know that’s what it took to take you down!” Donatello joked and jabbed his older brother in the arms. Leonardo’s face grew red with embarrassment but he rolled his eyes in good fun of the situation.   
“Imagine what it might take to ‘get-him-up’!” Michelangelo exclaimed loudly followed by an erupting laughter from his older brothers. Ebony unfortunately caught on quickly to the youngest turtle’s dirty joke and rolled her eyes (she still blushed like mad). Ebony took this opportunity of Leonardo’s lecturing about perverted talks to study the height differences between the brothers and herself.   
Leonardo wasn’t the tallest, though his demeanor and posture said otherwise. Raphael enjoyed his towering height, especially around Michelangelo and Ebony. However, Raphael was neck in neck with Donatello’s lean body, and Michelangelo fell short of his brothers. But as of late, Michelangelo has felt like a giant around Ebony, although she doesn’t fall far from his height.   
Suddenly, Ebony felt her height was of little importance as Mikey wrapped his arms around her shoulders,  
“Yo Ebony! Let’s go watch Jeepers Creepers and get away from theeesseee creeeppss!!” Mikey suggested and then dragged her away with Donatello. Leonardo watched her walk away with his younger brothers, finally smiling in content at what had just happened to him.   
Raphael tapped his shoulder, “She’s crazy ya know?” Leonardo laughed along with Raph and nodded, “Oh yeah.”   
“What did you get so upset at Mike for this mornin’?” Leonardo sighed, ashamed.  
“It doesn’t matter, Raphael.” The burlier turtle shoved his pectoral and rolled his eyes,  
“Yes, it does. Now seriously, what got Fearless so riled up?” Leonardo was getting more and more agitated at his brother, not just for his stubbornness to let go of the conversation, but his blunt comments. Wasn’t there just one day where Leonardo would find peace from his brother’s pesky questions?  
“Drop it Raphael.” A small growl escaped his lips.  
“Seriously? Jeez Leo, I didn’t know that you liked her that much!” Leonardo glared at Raphael, who gave him that ‘don’t-deny-it’ face.   
“I said to drop. It. Raphael.” Raphael rolled his eyes.  
“Whatever.” Leonardo was waiting for another reply from the pausing turtle,   
“But you would like her to call ya daddy or sensei.” Raphael gave Leonardo that smug smirk of his, all to knowingly that he just got under his skin. Leonardo was shocked at the comment all together. The thought of anyone disrespecting Ebony, or women for that matter, made Leonardo’s blood boiling.   
“You better be joking right now.” Raphael took another angered step forward with the same smug look on his face,   
“Please! Ya know I’m jokin’! But that doesn’t mean I’m not wrong!” Leonardo growled in rebuttal of his younger brother’s comment,  
“Raphael, the smug look you have needs to go.” Raphael laughed dryly.   
“Why? What are you going to do about it?!”  
“I’m not going to argue with you on this, Raphael! You’re being disrespectful!”  
“And like you’re not!? You yelled at Mike this mornin’ because you were jealous that he was going to steal Eb away from ya!”   
“She’s not my girl! Stop thinking, never mind! I wasn’t jealous!”  
“Then what, Leo? What was going through your head, that Mike was gunna kiss her soft lips?” Raphael’s voice bellowed across the lair, and Leonardo was sure that Ebony heard the comment. In a harsh whisper, Leonardo attempt to quiet his brother down,  
“That’s enough Raphael!”   
“What is enough Leo?! You always get what you want! Splinter’s blessing, leadership, the girl! Why can’t you let one of your brothers be happy for once!”  
“I will say it once, and only once. And I don’t even care if she goes out with one of your guys! Ebony is not my girlfriend!” Leonardo’s voice bellowed, and to not much surprise, Ebony was listening intently. She couldn’t decide whether she was hurt, shocked, or annoyed at Leonardo’s and Raphael’s conversation. There was a painful ache in her chest that she hadn’t felt in a long time... but this felt more personal.   
Normally, negative words like that wouldn’t faze her, but this was different. She sensed that Leonardo’s diction was only in context of the argument, but she couldn’t help but feel the tears come forward. Was it not just last night that he was holding her up against him, they held hands, talked about romantic gestures? Ebony felt so betrayed by Leonardo’s harsh words and actions, she couldn’t even comprehend the words spilling out of the TV speakers. Rubbing her face unintentionally, she turned her attention back to the TV. Ebony was not totally interested in the moving figures on the screen, but instead the upset look on Michelangelo’s face. His eyes seemed tired, his happy smile turned upside down.  
Lately, Michelangelo has become her main source of happiness with his constant jokes, accurate movie references and of course his silly little accents here and there. Ebony has never had to doubt her happy expression when the youngest turtle is around. However, she was truly concerned by the way he flinched at every syllable Leonardo and Raphael spat at each other.   
“Michelangelo? Are you okay?” Ebony gracefully touched his shoulder, the bright eye turtle jumped, and stared at Ebony longingly. His emotional look changed drastically, his persona switching from depressed to energetic.   
“Ya dudette! It’s all good! Let’s watch this movie!” His attention was immediately glued to the screen   
“No, it’s not all good Michelangelo. What’s wrong?” Ebony gripped his green shoulder tighter which sent shivers down his shell. Michelangelo’s eyes wandered sadly towards his brothers,  
“I don’t like it when they argue.” Ebony looked over at Donatello who was zoned out into his mechanical work, his head bobbing up and down from listening to his choice of music.  
Ebony figured that the younger brothers were not fond of their elders fighting, but this was ridiculous. Ebony was fed up with the argument and the constant yelling to the point where her head was about to explode, especially as it concerned herself and her choice of dating. Slamming her fists into the couch caught Michelangelo’s attention as she stormed off in their direction, Donatello watched out of the corner of his eye a speedy figure with lovely hair rushing past him. Ebony came up next to the two turtles who didn’t even seem to notice her petit figure getting in the middle of their soon-to-be attacks. Raphael’s chest was right up against Leonardo’s, whose was heaving in anger.   
Ebony hesitated at first, worried about her own primitive instincts that began to bubble at her finger tips. Taking a deep breath, she began shouting, “Raphael! Leonardo!” Raphael caught her defying glare, but continued to growl at his brother. Leonardo grew angry and threw his hands out, opening himself to his brother,  
“Oh look, your girlfriend is here to defend you! Oomph!” A flat palm collided with Raphael’s chest, which sent him tumbling down the small set of stairs. Landing on his shell the bulky turtle held his plastron in pain and realized that the attack did not come from Leonardo. Ebony stood above him and glared, but then her attention was turned to Leonardo who frowned at her,   
“What’s got you so riled up, Ebony?!” Leonardo’s instinct drew himself closer to her in an aggressive fashion. Ebony’s eyes narrowed, her fists clench tightly till her knuckles turned white. She couldn’t meet his gaze, all she could feel was the rejection from earlier, those words continued to dig under her scales like cockroaches. She finally managed to spit out:   
“That’s rich coming from you, Leonardo!” Leonardo got closer to her proximity, his aroma filling her nostrils instantly. The loving but hurtful smell sent more tears to her eyes like cutting onions. She swung at his chest as well, and sent him colliding with the wall. Luckily it was not hard enough to break the wall, but enough to get the point across.  
Thankfully, Leonardo understood the wake-up call. Here he was in the middle of the lair, chest to chest with Raphael and arguing over who would get Ebony. He made her sound like she was an object, not a person (mutant turtle), he yelled to the whole world that he wasn’t interested in her. He blew his fucking chance. Leonardo’s heart burned at the sight of Ebony’s painful expression as he tried to explain himself,  
“Ebony, I’m so sorry, I was caught up in the argument. I, I didn’t mean what I said. Ebony?” Ebony couldn’t answer, her eyes were becoming bloodshot from her overwhelming emotions. Her armored scales began to quiver against her goosebumps of anger. A knot in her stomach was about to come forward and out of her mouth. Leonardo watched her fists tremble, her lips parting, and her eyes blinking rapidly. Ebony took a deep breath and gathered herself quickly, she looked at Leonardo and Raphael.  
“Whatever.”   
________________________________________Later that evening near 5 o’clock, Michelangelo and Ebony had finished the movie that Mikey had fallen asleep to the night before, and Michelangelo continued to say that he needed the second movie. Ebony rolled her eyes and went towards the kitchen to clean up her dishes from her and Donatello’s lunch.  
She was doing better since her morning fight with Leonardo and Raphael. Donatello had found her sulking in the dojo, and he had offered a very logical, but quite effect ear to listen to. She felt better having vented out her feelings, but it still pained her to think about Leonardo’s words. While she scrubbed away at the dried-on noodles, she hummed the spine-chilling tune from Jeepers Creepers, and swayed her hips and shoulders side to side. Her hums soon became lyrics, and they grew louder. Michelangelo had snuck into the kitchen, but still did not go unseen by the petit mutant.   
“What’s up Michelangelo?” She turned around and placed the last plate in the cupboard. Michelangelo dropped his jaw, obviously shocked,  
“What’s up!? You’re what’s up girl! Why haven’t you ever told us that you’re a singer?” Ebony was confused at his sudden curiosity and shrugged,  
“Because it’s nothing really that important?” Ebony waltzed out of the kitchen to go and find something else to do for the rest of the night, however, Michelangelo didn’t want to drop the subject and hopped in her path.   
“Oh, come on Ebby! You’ll love our Hip-Hop Christmas album! It’s the best! You and Raph can do some duets, Donnie can beat-box, Leo can hum the melody!” Ebony started laughing but shook her head,   
“Raph and I? Doing a duet? I don’t think so.” Ebony scoffed playfully. Her anger towards the two eldest had subsided, but she still avoided them just in case they wanted to rile each other up again. Ebony reached for the bowl of apples, which Michelangelo sneakily snatched away from her reach. Raising her brow at the childish turtle she watched as an idea popped into his head. His eyes light up mischievously and his cute little smile turned into a sly grin,  
“I’m sure Leonardo could make you sing~!” He waited for Ebony’s blushing surprise, but he was met with her biting lip and shrugging agreement. Immediately Michelangelo felt guilty for bringing up such a sensitive subject now, and was about to apologize when,  
“If he actually tried, I’m sure he could, Mikey. However,” She reached forward and snatched the apple she adored from the bowl,   
“I prefer my one solo act, but thank you Mikey.” Ebony waltzed off to go see if anyone was in the garage. Michelangelo felt defeated, but still determined to get her to sing with her lovely voice. Bouncing off in another direction, Michelangelo went to go bug Donatello and Raphael, who were joking about the next WWE Champion. Ebony eventually gave up her search for something entertaining, and took a deep breath. She knew that nothing would be solved by water under the bridge. With a hesitant step, she walked in the dojo.   
Leonardo sat on his meditation mat, unsure that he was even meditating. How could he have said that to her? Leonardo’s focus was broken at the sound of his brothers routing for some silly wrestler on the screen. Leonardo was more concerned about Ebony, and how she was dealing with his actions earlier.   
It was as if she read his mind because right before his very eyes, she sat down in front of him. Embarrassment, shame, guilt, heart ache, and even thoughts of rejection crossed his mind within the long stare that they shared.   
Ebony didn’t know what to say exactly, nor how she felt. She was stuck in her own emotions about how to deal with the situation at hand, which lead her to hope that Leonardo would take the initiative.   
Five long, excruciating minutes of silence between the two mutants who would lock their longing gazes, and then tear them away painfully. Finally, Ebony knew that Leonardo wasn’t going to break anytime soon, and she figured now is better than later.   
“Leonardo, let’s talk about what happened.” Ebony noticed the flicker of shock in his eyes when he tightened his jaw. Ebony knew that he was not going to take the initiative, which was uncommon for him, and she continued,  
“I… I don’t care what your problem was, but I didn’t appreciate what you said about me.” Almost instantly, Leonardo had a reply,  
“I know, Ebony! I didn’t mean what I said, I’m so sorry I-“  
“Leonardo, just listen to me”  
“It’s just that Raphael was being disrespectful, saying untruthful things and just trying to get under my skin because he is jealous-“  
“Jealous because of…?”  
“Because you slept in my room last night! He claims that I have it the best out of the four of us, but I don’t! I have so much stress on my shoulders, I have to constantly worry about them, the team, the lair, our home! I’m jealous of them because they have everything I want!”  
“Including me? You got jealous of Michelangelo this morning because he tickled me Leonardo. Did you ever think that it was out of fun and not flirting?” Ebony crossed her arms, leaving Leonardo fuming with self-disappointment.  
“I, know that I shouldn’t have yelled at him like that. I know that I shouldn’t have let Raphael get to me…” Ebony furrowed her brows at his abruptly stopped sentence. Leonardo sighed heavily, he knew this was a risky move, but after long meditation and thought about the whole idea, he came to heart-breaking terms with it.   
“Leonardo, do you even want to do this?” Ebony muttered with a drone expression that even Leonardo was taken back. He figured that it would hurt less if he tried to reject the idea of romance between them, but now, it was excruciating.   
“What do you mean by this?”  
“Well, this attraction. I can’t help but notice that it’s caused a distraction between your team and your instincts, and I don’t want to be the cause of that. I’d rather know that the four of you are doing your best, and that you’re safe.”  
“You’re not a distraction.”  
“You didn’t say that with much confidence.” Leonardo was now stuck within a rock and a hard place. He wanted to be a part of Ebony’s love life, but his brothers always came first. This wasn’t something he was used to, of course the brothers only had one female in their lives, who happens to be a human and currently taken.   
Leonardo was so angry at himself for thinking with such pessimism. He did want to try a relationship with Ebony, hell, he wanted a relationship with her. Without restraint, Leonardo’s words rolled off his tongue,  
“I want you to be in a relationship with me.” Ebony was slightly taken back by his eager and sudden response, but she gladly took it. Ebony reached her hands out to touch his knees when his hands grabbed her wrists and pulled her closer to him. Ebony’s lips were mere inches from his, and her heated face wasn’t helping his desperation for her lips.   
“Leonardo?”   
“Hmm?” Leonardo’s heart was pounding like Michelangelo’s drum set, his eyes were lost in her amber eyes that blinked in apprehension.  
“Please, understand. I’ve never experienced this type of emotion before… and I want to take this slow. I want us to grow in our friendship in case anything happens… to either of us. I don’t want you to be jealous of your brothers, I just want us to be a dysfunctional family.” Ebony cracked a smile, which sent Leonardo’s overly excited smile into a happy grin.  
“Ebony, I’m not a romantic or anything, but I’m willing to try, and-“  
“Who says you had to be romantic? I just want you to be you, Leonardo. Just promise me that you’ll behave the same way around your brothers. I don’t want you to become overly protective of me either, I am quite capable of protecting myself.” Ebony finally shifted comfortably next to the blue-banded turtle, her scaled shoulders leaning up against his.   
“I could tell,” Leonardo rubbed his slightly sore plastron, Ebony shrugged and apologized. Ebony felt her comfortability levels grow stronger with the feeling of Leonardo’s leathery skin. Leonardo smiled at himself, the hard part was over; the overwhelming anxiety of asking her on a date. Suddenly, the thought of being boyfriend and girlfriend dawned on him,  
“Ebony?” She turned his head to look at him,  
“Are we… dating now?” Ebony felt a smirk crawl onto her face as she shrugged and got up from the meditation mat. Giving a salutation to Leonardo as she exited the dojo, she smiled,  
“That depends on how good our first date is.” Leonardo watched the petit turtle waltz out of the dojo. Her hips swayed from side to side, her loose braid in sync with her hips. Her shell was perfectly exposed from her loose tunic. I’m going on a date with that beautiful turtle.   
Ebony sat on the couch, bored out of her mind as she watched the two wrestlers tackle each other and share fists in each other’s faces. Her mind wandered to the thought of Leonardo’s question, ‘Are we dating now?’. Ebony never understood the point of dating, engagement, and marriage, and she still doesn’t. She couldn’t tell if this was an animalistic attraction, a lustful call of the wild, or genuine attraction. Whatever it was, Ebony was gladly accepting the attention and warming feeling it brought.   
Ebony was knocked to the side by Raphael’s exuberating love for WWE. Rolling her eyes, she watched the leader in blue come forward. They all turned to see Leonardo holding something behind his shell.  
“What’s up bro?” Donatello asked, which Leonardo smirked. “Guys, go gear up, we’re going to the Halloween Parade.” Michelangelo lit up like a Christmas tree and engulfed his big brother in a hug. Laughing heartedly, Leonardo patted his brother’s shell, but not before his other brothers joined in on the appreciation. Ebony watched as they all ran towards the weapons room to get their weapon of choice.  
Ebony met Leonardo’s wandering gaze, and then her focus shifted to the object behind his shell.  
“Am I supposed to guess what you have behind your shell?” She lifted her leg up and over the other and walked over to Leonardo. Leonardo was a confident, yet cocky mess, and Ebony was slowly drifting into daydreams.  
“Well,” he coughed and held out a beautiful infinity scarf, black with gold moons and stars all around it, “I can’t have you getting a cold while enjoying the fresh air of Manhattan before our first date, can I?” His smile followed suit with hers as her face lit up like the New York skyline.  
“Leo, it’s beautiful!” She gripped the warm fabric carefully, intending to graze his fingers in the process. As their fingers met, Leonardo’s eyes flicked down to meet her tawny eyes. Ebony couldn’t help but smile cheerfully, and Leonardo took his risky chance,   
“Would you like to accompany me to see the Halloween Parade?” He smiled nervously, his heart pounded against his chest, hands sweaty.  
“You’re not planning on making this our first date, are you?” ebony laughed and Leonardo shrugged, but shook his head.  
“Good!” Ebony exclaimed as she cheerfully hugged Leonardo’s plastron tightly. Leonardo was expecting her to run off right away, but she stayed and inhaled the musky smell of his sweat from training. Cautiously, he wrapped his arms around her petit shell and smiled into her auburn tresses.   
“Let’s go Ebby,” He muttered against her head and within an instant she shot out towards the weapon room to meet with the brothers, but not without Leonardo’s hand.   
A content, old rat stood in the doorway of the dojo with a small cup of tea to accompany him and his shows. He hummed happily at the thought of his sons and his new house guest. Turning around, his robe followed behind him as he settled for the couch.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Feel free to drop a comment or ask for requests as I am trying to expand my creativity. :)


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